Information distribution system

ABSTRACT

In an information distribution system, an information distribution apparatus distributes documents to a portable terminal. The information distribution apparatus includes a document holding part which retains documents written in XML, and a transmission part which transmits documents to the portable terminal. The portable terminal includes a communication part which acquires documents transmitted from the information distribution apparatus, a document processing apparatus which processes the documents acquired, a display device which displays the documents processed, and an input device which accepts inputs from a user. The document processing apparatus includes a processing system which processes documents written with a predetermined tag set, and a conversion part which converts elements included in the documents into elements processible by the processing system.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an information distribution technology,and in particular to an information distribution system whichdistributes documents written in XML (eXtensible Markup Language) toportable terminals.

BACKGROUND ART

In recent years, cellular phones have become prevalent across a widerange of people, and it is no exaggeration to say that almost all adultshave a cellular phone terminal. In addition to this, improvements inInternet infrastructures have increased the level of Internet users atan explosive rate. Many cellular phone terminals have facilities forInternet access, and businesses that distribute information to cellularphone terminals over the Internet are also thriving.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention

In information distribution services that are currently widespread, webpages written in HTML (HyperText Markup Language) are distributed fromweb servers. However, HTML is a markup language that is chiefly intendedto define display formats, and the contents of the documents aretherefore not tagged by meaning. This creates the problem of poordocument reusability.

The present invention has been developed in view of the foregoingcircumstances. It is thus a general purpose of the present invention toprovide a technology for distributing documents written in XML toportable terminals.

Means for Solving the Problems

One embodiment of the present invention relates to an informationdistribution system. This information distribution system includes aportable terminal and an information distribution apparatus whichdistributes information to the portable terminal. The informationdistribution apparatus includes a holding part which retains a documentwritten in a markup language. The portable terminal includes: anacquisition part which acquires the document from the informationdistribution apparatus; a processing system which processes a documentwritten with a predetermined tag set; a conversion part which convertsan element included in the document into an element processible by theprocessing system, and manages correspondence between the elementsbefore and after conversion; and a display device which displays adocument that is converted by the conversion part and processed by theprocessing system.

The information distribution apparatus may further include atransmission part which transmits the document to the portable terminal.The portable terminal may further include a reception part whichreceives the document transmitted from the information distributionapparatus.

The portable terminal may further include a definition file whichdescribes a rule for converting a document included in the document intoan element processible by the processing system. The conversion part mayconsult the definition file and convert an element included in thedocument into an element processible by the processing system. Theholding part may further retain the definition file. The transmissionpart may transmit the definition file to the portable terminal. Theportable terminal may include a switch part which switches between aplurality of the definition files corresponding to the documents, ifacquired, and applies the same. The definition file may further describea user interface for processing the document. The portable terminal maydisplay the user interface described in the definition file on thedisplay device, and accept an instruction from a user.

The portable terminal may further include a transmission part whichsends the document edited by the processing system back to theinformation distribution apparatus.

The portable terminal may further include a search part which searchesfor an information distribution apparatus capable of communication withthe terminal itself. The acquisition part may acquire a document fromthe information distribution apparatus searched by the search part. Thesearch part may search for a document written with a tag set processibleby the definition file that the portable terminal has. The acquisitionpart may acquire the document searched by the search part.

Note that any combination of the aforementioned components or anymanifestation of the present invention realized by modification of amethod, device, system, and so forth, is effective as an embodiment ofthe present invention.

ADVANTAGES

The present invention provides a technique for distributing a documentwritten in XML to a portable terminal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram which shows a configuration of a document processingapparatus according to the background technique.

FIG. 2 is a diagram which shows an example of an XML document which is aprocessing target.

FIG. 3 is a diagram which shows an example in which the XML documentshown in FIG. 2 is mapped to a table described in HTML.

FIG. 4( a) is a diagram which shows an example of a definition file usedfor mapping the XML document shown in FIG. 2 to the table shown in FIG.3.

FIG. 4( b) is a diagram which shows an example of a definition file usedfor mapping the XML document shown in FIG. 2 to the table shown in FIG.3.

FIG. 5 is a diagram which shows an example of a screen on which the XMLdocument, which has been described in a marks managing vocabulary andwhich is shown in FIG. 2, is displayed after having been mapped to HTMLaccording to the correspondence shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a diagram which shows an example of a graphical user interfaceprovided by a definition file creating unit, which allows the user tocreate a definition file.

FIG. 7 is a diagram which shows another example of a screen layoutcreated by the definition file creating unit.

FIG. 8 is a diagram which shows an example of an editing screen for anXML document, as provided by the document processing apparatus.

FIG. 9 is a diagram which shows another example of an XML document whichis to be edited by the document processing apparatus.

FIG. 10 is a diagram which shows an example of a screen on which thedocument shown in FIG. 9 is displayed.

FIG. 11( a) is a diagram which shows a basic configuration of a documentprocessing system.

FIG. 11( b) is a block diagram which shows an overall blockconfiguration of a document processing system.

FIG. 11( c) is a block diagram which shows an overall blockconfiguration of a document processing system.

FIG. 12 is a diagram which shows a document management unit in detail.

FIG. 13 is a diagram which shows a vocabulary connection sub-system indetail.

FIG. 14 is a diagram which shows a relation between a program invokerand other components in detail.

FIG. 15 is a diagram which shows a structure of an application serviceloaded to the program invoker in detail.

FIG. 16 is a diagram which shows a core component in detail.

FIG. 17 is a diagram which shows a document management unit in detail.

FIG. 18 is a diagram which shows an undo framework and an undo commandin detail.

FIG. 19 is a diagram which shows the operation in which a document isloaded to the document processing system.

FIG. 20 is a diagram which shows an example of a document and arepresentation of the document.

FIG. 21 is a diagram which shows a relation between a model and acontroller.

FIG. 22 is a diagram which shows a plug-in sub-system, a vocabularyconnection, and a connector, in detail.

FIG. 23 is a diagram which shows an example of a VCD file.

FIG. 24 is a diagram which shows a procedure for loading a compounddocument to the document processing system.

FIG. 25 is a diagram which shows a procedure for loading a compounddocument to the document processing system.

FIG. 26 is a diagram which shows a procedure for loading a compounddocument to the document processing system.

FIG. 27 is a diagram which shows a procedure for loading a compounddocument to the document processing system.

FIG. 28 is a diagram which shows a procedure for loading a compounddocument to the document processing system.

FIG. 29 is a diagram which shows a command flow.

FIG. 30 is a diagram which shows a configuration of an informationdistribution system according to an embodiment.

FIGS. 31( a) and 31(b) are diagrams which show a first example ofapplication of the information distribution system.

FIGS. 32( a) and 32(b) are diagrams which show a second example ofapplication of the information distribution system.

FIGS. 33( a) and 33(b) are diagrams which show a third example ofapplication of the information distribution system.

FIG. 34 is a diagram which shows another example of a configuration ofthe information distribution system.

FIG. 35 is a diagram which shows yet another example of a configurationof the information distribution system.

REFERENCE NUMERALS

-   -   20 document processing apparatus    -   21 display device    -   22 main control unit    -   23 input device    -   24 editing unit    -   25 information distribution apparatus    -   26 document holding part    -   27 transmission part    -   30 DOM unit    -   32 DOM provider    -   34 DOM builder    -   36 DOM writer    -   40 CSS unit    -   42 CSS parser    -   44 CSS provider    -   46 rendering unit    -   50 HTML unit    -   52, 62 control unit    -   54, 64 editing unit    -   56, 66 display unit    -   60 SVG unit    -   70 portable terminal    -   71 personal information holding part    -   72 filtering part    -   73 document holding part    -   74 search part    -   75 communication part    -   76 vending apparatus    -   77 definition file holding part    -   78 switch part    -   80 VC unit    -   82 mapping unit    -   84 definition file acquisition unit    -   86 definition file creating unit    -   89 wireless IC tag

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Background Technique

FIG. 1 illustrates a structure of a document processing apparatus 20according to the background technique. The document processing apparatus20 processes a structured document where data in the document areclassified into a plurality of components having a hierarchicalstructure. Represented in the background technique is an example inwhich an XML document, as one type of a structured document, isprocessed. The document processing apparatus 20 is comprised of a maincontrol unit 22, an editing unit 24, a DOM unit 30, a CSS unit 40, anHTML unit 50, an SVG unit 60 and a VC unit 80 which serves as an exampleof a conversion unit. In terms of hardware components, these unitstructures may be realized by any conventional processing system orequipment, including a CPU or memory of any computer, a memory-loadedprogram, or the like. Here, the drawing shows a functional blockconfiguration which is realized by cooperation between the hardwarecomponents and software components. Thus, it would be understood bythose skilled in the art that these function blocks can be realized in avariety of forms by hardware only, software only or the combinationthereof.

The main control unit 22 provides for the loading of a plug-in or aframework for executing a command. The editing unit 24 provides aframework for editing XML documents. Display and editing functions for adocument in the document processing apparatus 20 are realized byplug-ins, and the necessary plug-ins are loaded by the main control unit22 or the editing unit 24 according to the type of document underconsideration. The main control unit 22 or the editing unit 24determines which vocabulary or vocabularies describes the content of anXML document to be processed, by referring to a name space of thedocument to be processed, and loads a plug-in for display or editingcorresponding to the thus determined vocabulary so as to execute thedisplay or the editing. For instance, an HTML unit 50, which displaysand edits HTML documents, and an SVG unit 60, which displays and editsSVG documents, are implemented in the document processing apparatus 20.That is, a display system and an editing system are implemented asplug-ins for each vocabulary (tag set), so that when an HTML documentand an SVG document are edited, the HTML unit 50 and the SVG unit 60 areloaded, respectively. As will be described later, when compounddocuments, which contain both the HTML and SVG components, are to beprocessed, both the HTML unit 50 and the SVG unit 60 are loaded.

By implementing the above structure, a user can select so as to installonly necessary functions, and can add or delete a function or functionsat a later stage, as appropriate. Thus, the storage area of a recordingmedium, such as a hard disk, can be effectively utilized, and thewasteful use of memory can be prevented at the time of executingprograms. Furthermore, since the capability of this structure is highlyexpandable, a developer can deal with new vocabularies in the form ofplug-ins, and thus the development process can be readily facilitated.As a result, the user can also add a function or functions easily at lowcost by adding a plug-in or plug-ins.

The editing unit 24 receives an event, which is an editing instruction,from the user via the user interface. Upon reception of such an event,the editing unit 24 notifies a suitable plug-in or the like of thisevent, and controls the processing such as redoing this event, canceling(undoing) this event, etc.

The DOM unit 30 includes a DOM provider 32, a DOM builder 34 and a DOMwriter 36. The DOM unit 30 realizes functions in compliance with adocument object model (DOM), which is defined to provide an accessmethod used for handling data in the form of an XML document. The DOMprovider 32 is an implementation of a DOM that satisfies an interfacedefined by the editing unit 24. The DOM builder 34 generates DOM treesfrom XML documents. As will be described later, when an XML document tobe processed is mapped to another vocabulary by the VC unit 80, a sourcetree, which corresponds to the XML document in a mapping source, and adestination tree, which corresponds to the XML document in a mappingdestination, are generated. At the end of editing, for example, the DOMwriter 36 outputs a DOM tree as an XML document.

The CSS unit 40, which provides a display function conforming to CSS,includes a CSS parser 42, a CSS provider 44 and a rendering unit 46. TheCSS parser 42 has a parsing function for analyzing the CSS syntax. TheCSS provider 44 is an implementation of a CSS object and performs CSScascade processing on the DOM tree. The rendering unit 46 is a CSSrendering engine and is used to display documents, described in avocabulary such as HTML, which are laid out using CSS.

The HTML unit 50 displays or edits documents described in HTML. The SVGunit 60 displays or edits documents described in SVG. Thesedisplay/editing systems are realized in the form of plug-ins, and eachsystem is comprised of a display unit (also designated herein as a“canvas”) 56 and 66, which displays documents, a control unit (alsodesignated herein as an “editlet”) 52 and 62, which transmits andreceives events containing editing commands, and an edit unit (alsodesignated herein as a “zone”) 54 and 64, which edits the DOM accordingto the editing commands. Upon the control unit 52 or 62 receiving a DOMtree editing command from an external source, the edit unit 54 or 64modifies the DOM tree and the display unit 56 or 66 updates the display.These units have a structure similar to the framework of the so-calledMVC (Model-View-Controller). With such a structure, in general, thedisplay units 56 and 66 correspond to “View”. On the other hand, thecontrol units 52 and 62 correspond to “Controller”, and the edit units54 and 64 and DOM instance corresponds to “Model”. The documentprocessing apparatus 20 according to the background technique allows anXML document to be edited according to each given vocabulary, as well asproviding a function of editing the HTML document in the form of treedisplay. The HTML unit 50 provides a user interface for editing an HTMLdocument in a manner similar to a word processor, for example. On theother hand, the SVG unit 60 provides a user interface for editing an SVGdocument in a manner similar to an image drawing tool.

The VC unit 80 includes a mapping unit 82, a definition file acquiringunit 84 and a definition file generator 86. The VC unit 80 performsmapping of a document, which has been described in a particularvocabulary, to another given vocabulary, thereby providing a frameworkthat allows a document to be displayed and edited by a display/editingplug-in corresponding to the vocabulary to which the document is mapped.In the background technique, this function is called a vocabularyconnection (VC). In the VC unit 80, the definition file acquiring unit84 acquires a script file in which the mapping definition is described.Here, the definition file specifies the correspondence (connection)between the nodes for each node. Furthermore, the definition file mayspecify whether or not editing of the element values or attribute valuesis permitted. Furthermore, the definition file may include operationexpressions using the element values or attribute values for the node.Detailed description will be made later regarding these functions. Themapping unit 82 instructs the DOM builder 34 to generate a destinationtree with reference to the script file acquired by the definition fileacquiring unit 84. This manages the correspondence between the sourcetree and the destination tree. The definition file generator 86 offers agraphical user interface which allows the user to generate a definitionfile.

The VC unit 80 monitors the connection between the source tree and thedestination tree. Upon reception of an editing instruction from the uservia a user interface provided by a plug-in that handles a displayfunction, the VC unit 80 first modifies a relevant node of the sourcetree. As a result, the DOM unit 30 issues a mutation event indicatingthat the source tree has been modified. Upon reception of the mutationevent thus issued, the VC unit 80 modifies a node of the destinationtree corresponding to the modified node, thereby updating thedestination tree in a manner that synchronizes with the modification ofthe source tree. Upon reception of a mutation event that indicates thatthe destination tree has been modified, a plug-in having functions ofdisplaying/editing the destination tree, e.g., the HTML unit 50, updatesa display with reference to the destination tree thus modified. Such astructure allows a document described in any vocabulary, even a minorvocabulary used in a minor user segment, to be converted into a documentdescribed in another major vocabulary. This enables such a documentdescribed in a minor vocabulary to be displayed, and provides an editingenvironment for such a document.

An operation in which the document processing apparatus 20 displaysand/or edits documents will be described herein below. When the documentprocessing apparatus 20 loads a document to be processed, the DOMbuilder 34 generates a DOM tree from the XML document. The main controlunit 22 or the editing unit 24 determines which vocabulary describes theXML document by referring to a name space of the XML document to beprocessed. If the plug-in corresponding to the vocabulary is installedin the document processing apparatus 20, the plug-in is loaded so as todisplay/edit the document. If, on the other hand, the plug-in is notinstalled in the document processing apparatus 20, a check shall be madeto see whether a mapping definition file exists or not. And if thedefinition file exits, the definition file acquiring unit 84 acquiresthe definition file and generates a destination tree according to thedefinition, so that the document is displayed/edited by the plug-incorresponding to the vocabulary which is to be used for mapping. If thedocument is a compound document containing a plurality of vocabularies,relevant portions of the document are displayed/edited by plug-inscorresponding to the respective vocabularies, as will be describedlater. If the definition file does not exist, a source or tree structureof a document is displayed and the editing is carried out on the displayscreen.

FIG. 2 shows an example of an XML document to be processed. According tothis exemplary illustration, the XML document is used to manage dataconcerning grades or marks that students have earned. A component“marks”, which is the top node of the XML document, includes a pluralityof components “student” provided for each student under “marks”. Thecomponent “student” has an attribute “name” and contains, as childelements, the subjects “japanese”, “mathematics”, “science”, and“social_studies”. The attribute “name” stores the name of a student. Thecomponents “japanese”, “mathematics”, “science” and “social_studies”store the test scores for the subjects Japanese, mathematics, science,and social studies, respectively. For example, the marks of a studentwhose name is “A” are “90” for Japanese, “50” for mathematics, “75” forscience and “60” for social studies. Hereinafter, the vocabulary (tagset) used in this document will be called “marks managing vocabulary”.

Here, the document processing apparatus 20 according to the backgroundtechnique does not have a plug-in which conforms to or handles thedisplay/editing of marks managing vocabularies. Accordingly, beforedisplaying such a document in a manner other than the source displaymanner or the tree display manner, the above-described VC function isused. That is, there is a need to prepare a definition file for mappingthe document, which has been described in the marks managing vocabulary,to another vocabulary, which is supported by a corresponding plug-in,e.g., HTML or SVG. Note that description will be made later regarding auser interface that allows the user to create the user's own definitionfile. Now, description will be made below regarding a case in which adefinition file has already been prepared.

FIG. 3 shows an example in which the XML document shown in FIG. 2 ismapped to a table described in HTML. In an example shown in FIG. 3, a“student” node in the marks managing vocabulary is associated with a row(“TR” node) of a table (“TABLE” node) in HTML. The first column in eachrow corresponds to an attribute value “name”, the second column to a“japanese” node element value, the third column to a “mathematics” nodeelement value, the fourth column to a “science” node element value andthe fifth column to a “social_studies” node element value. As a result,the XML document shown in FIG. 2 can be displayed in an HTML tabularformat. Furthermore, these attribute values and element values aredesignated as being editable, so that the user can edit these values ona display screen using an editing function of the HTML unit 50. In thesixth column, an operation expression is designated for calculating aweighted average of the marks for Japanese, mathematics, science andsocial studies, and average values of the marks for each student aredisplayed. In this manner, more flexible display can be effected bymaking it possible to specify the operation expression in the definitionfile, thus improving the users' convenience at the time of editing. Inthis example shown in FIG. 3, editing is designated as not beingpossible in the sixth column, so that the average value alone cannot beedited individually. Thus, in the mapping definition it is possible tospecify editing or no editing so as to protect the users against thepossibility of performing erroneous operations.

FIG. 4( a) and FIG. 4( b) illustrate an example of a definition file tomap the XML document shown in FIG. 2 to the table shown in FIG. 3. Thisdefinition file is described in script language defined for use withdefinition files. In the definition file, definitions of commands andtemplates for display are described. In the example shown in FIG. 4( a)and FIG. 4( b), “add student” and “delete student” are defined ascommands, and an operation of inserting a node “student” into a sourcetree and an operation of deleting the node “student” from the sourcetree, respectively, are associated with these commands. Furthermore, thedefinition file is described in the form of a template, which describesthat a header, such as “name” and “japanese”, is displayed in the firstrow of a table and the contents of the node “student” are displayed inthe second and subsequent rows. In the template displaying the contentsof the node “student”, a term containing “text-of” indicates thatediting is permitted, whereas a term containing “value-of” indicatesthat editing is not permitted. Among the rows where the contents of thenode “student” are displayed, an operation expression“(src:japanese+src:mathematics+scr:science+scr:social_studies) div 4” isdescribed in the sixth row. This means that the average of the student'smarks is displayed.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a display screen on which an XML documentdescribed in the marks managing vocabulary shown in FIG. 2 is displayedby mapping the XML document to HTML using the correspondence shown inFIG. 3. Displayed from left to right in each row of a table 90 are thename of each student, marks for Japanese, marks for mathematics, marksfor science, marks for social studies and the averages thereof. The usercan edit the XML document on this screen. For example, when the value inthe second row and the third column is changed to “70”, the elementvalue in the source tree corresponding to this node, that is, the marksof student “B” for mathematics are changed to “70”. At this time, inorder to have the destination tree follow the source tree, the VC unit80 changes a relevant portion of the destination tree accordingly, sothat the HTML unit 50 updates the display based on the destination treethus changed. Hence, the marks of student “B” for mathematics arechanged to “70”, and the average is changed to “55” in the table on thescreen.

On the screen as shown in FIG. 5, commands like “add student” and“delete student” are displayed in a menu as defined in the definitionfile shown in FIG. 4( a) and FIG. 4( b). When the user selects a commandfrom among these commands, a node “student” is added or deleted in thesource tree. In this manner, with the document processing apparatus 20according to the background technique, it is possible not only to editthe element values of components in a lower end of a hierarchicalstructure but also to edit the hierarchical structure. An edit functionfor editing such a tree structure may be presented to the user in theform of commands. Furthermore, a command to add or delete rows of atable may, for example, be linked to an operation of adding or deletingthe node “student”. A command to embed other vocabularies therein may bepresented to the user. This table may be used as an input template, sothat marks data for new students can be added in a fill-in-the-blankformat. As described above, the VC function allows a document describedin the marks managing vocabulary to be edited using the display/editingfunction of the HTML unit 50.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a graphical user interface, which thedefinition file generator 86 presents to the user, in order for the userto generate a definition file. An XML document to be mapped is displayedin a tree in a left-hand area 91 of a screen. The screen layout of anXML document after mapping is displayed in a right-hand area 92 of thescreen. This screen layout can be edited by the HTML unit 50, and theuser creates a screen layout for displaying documents in the right-handarea 92 of the screen. For example, a node of the XML document which isto be mapped, which is displayed in the left-hand area 91 of the screen,is dragged and dropped into the HTML screen layout in the right-handarea 92 of the screen using a pointing device such as a mouse, so that aconnection between a node at a mapping source and a node at a mappingdestination is specified. For example, when “mathematics,” which is achild element of the element “student,” is dropped to the intersectionof the first row and the third column in a table 90 on the HTML screen,a connection is established between the “mathematics” node and a “TD”node in the third column. Either editing or no editing can be specifiedfor each node. Moreover, the operation expression can be embedded in adisplay screen. When the screen editing is completed, the definitionfile generator 86 generates definition files, which describe connectionsbetween the screen layout and nodes.

Viewers or editors which can handle major vocabularies such as XHTML,MathML and SVG have already been developed. However, it does not serveany practical purpose to develop dedicated viewers or editors for suchdocuments described in the original vocabularies as shown in FIG. 2. If,however, the definition files for mapping to other vocabularies arecreated as mentioned above, the documents described in the originalvocabularies can be displayed and/or edited utilizing the VC functionwithout the need to develop a new viewer or editor.

FIG. 7 shows another example of a screen layout generated by thedefinition file generator 86. In the example shown in FIG. 7, a table 90and circular graphs 93 are created on a screen for displaying XMLdocuments described in the marks managing vocabulary. The circulargraphs 93 are described in SVG. As will be discussed later, the documentprocessing apparatus 20 according to the background technique canprocess a compound document described in the form of a single XMLdocument according to a plurality of vocabularies. That is why the table90 described in HTML and the circular graphs 93 described in SVG can bedisplayed on the same screen.

FIG. 8 shows an example of a display medium, which in a preferred butnon-limiting embodiment is an edit screen, for XML documents processedby the document processing apparatus 20. In the example shown in FIG. 8,a single screen is partitioned into a plurality of areas and the XMLdocument to be processed is displayed in a plurality of differentdisplay formats at the respective areas. The source of the document isdisplayed in an area 94, the tree structure of the document is displayedin an area 95, and the table shown in FIG. 5 and described in HTML isdisplayed in an area 96. The document can be edited in any of theseareas, and when the user edits content in any of these areas, the sourcetree will be modified accordingly, and then each plug-in that handlesthe corresponding screen display updates the screen so as to effect themodification of the source tree. Specifically, display units of theplug-ins in charge of displaying the respective edit screens areregistered in advance as listeners for mutation events that providenotice of a change in the source tree. When the source tree is modifiedby any of the plug-ins or the VC unit 80, all the display units, whichare displaying the edit screen, receive the issued mutation event(s) andthen update the screens. At this time, if the plug-in is executing thedisplay through the VC function, the VC unit 80 modifies the destinationtree following the modification of the source tree. Thereafter, thedisplay unit of the plug-in modifies the screen by referring to thedestination tree thus modified.

For example, when the source display and tree-view display areimplemented by dedicated plug-ins, the source-display plug-in and thetree-display plug-in execute their respective displays by directlyreferring to the source tree without involving the destination tree. Inthis case, when the editing is done in any area of the screen, thesource-display plug-in and the tree-display plug-in update the screen byreferring to the modified source tree. Also, the HTML unit 50 in chargeof displaying the area 96 updates the screen by referring to thedestination tree, which has been modified following the modification ofthe source tree.

The source display and the tree-view display can also be realized byutilizing the VC function. That is to say, an arrangement may be made inwhich the source and the tree structure are laid out in HTML, an XMLdocument is mapped to the HTML structure thus laid out, and the HTMLunit 50 displays the XML document thus mapped. In such an arrangement,three destination trees in the source format, the tree format and thetable format are generated. If the editing is carried out in any of thethree areas on the screen, the VC unit 80 modifies the source tree and,thereafter, modifies the three destination trees in the source format,the tree format and the table format. Then, the HTML unit 50 updates thethree areas of the screen by referring to the three destination trees.

In this manner, a document is displayed on a single screen in aplurality of display formats, thus improving a user's convenience. Forexample, the user can display and edit a document in a visuallyeasy-to-understand format using the table 90 or the like whileunderstanding the hierarchical structure of the document by the sourcedisplay or the tree display. In the above example, a single screen ispartitioned into a plurality of display formats, and they are displayedsimultaneously. Also, a single display format may be displayed on asingle screen so that the display format can be switched according tothe user's instructions. In this case, the main control unit 22 receivesfrom the user a request for switching the display format and theninstructs the respective plug-ins to switch the display.

FIG. 9 illustrates another example of an XML document edited by thedocument processing apparatus 20. In the XML document shown in FIG. 9,an XHTML document is embedded in a “foreignObject” tag of an SVGdocument, and the XHTML document contains an equation described inMathML. In this case, the editing unit 24 assigns the rendering job toan appropriate display system by referring to the name space. In theexample illustrated in FIG. 9, first, the editing unit 24 instructs theSVG unit 60 to render a rectangle, and then instructs the HTML unit 50to render the XHTML document. Furthermore, the editing unit 24 instructsa MathML unit (not shown) to render an equation. In this manner, thecompound document containing a plurality of vocabularies isappropriately displayed. FIG. 10 illustrates the resulting display.

The displayed menu may be switched corresponding to the position of thecursor (carriage) during the editing of a document. That is, when thecursor lies in an area where an SVG document is displayed, the menuprovided by the SVG unit 60, or a command set which is defined in thedefinition file for mapping the SVG document, is displayed. On the otherhand, when the cursor lies in an area where the XHTML document isdisplayed, the menu provided by the HTML unit 50, or a command set whichis defined in the definition file for mapping the HTML document, isdisplayed. Thus, an appropriate user interface can be presentedaccording to the editing position.

In a case that there is neither a plug-in nor a mapping definition filesuitable for any one of the vocabularies according to which the compounddocument has been described, a portion described in this vocabulary maybe displayed in source or in tree format. In the conventional practice,when a compound document is to be opened where another document isembedded in a particular document, their contents cannot be displayedwithout the installation of an application to display the embeddeddocument. According to the background technique, however, the XMLdocuments, which are composed of text data, may be displayed in sourceor in tree format so that the contents of the documents can beascertained. This is a characteristic of the text-based XML documents orthe like.

Another advantageous aspect of the data being described in a text-basedlanguage, for example, is that, in a single compound document, a part ofthe compound document described in a given vocabulary can be used asreference data for another part of the same compound document describedin a different vocabulary. Furthermore, when a search is made within thedocument, a string of characters embedded in a drawing, such as SVG, mayalso be search candidates.

In a document described in a particular vocabulary, tags belonging toother vocabularies may be used. Though such an XML document is generallynot valid, it can be processed as a valid XML document as long as it iswell-formed. In such a case, the tags thus inserted that belong to othervocabularies may be mapped using a definition file. For instance, tagssuch as “Important” and “Most Important” may be used so as to display aportion surrounding these tags in an emphasized manner, or may be sortedout in the order of importance.

When the user edits a document on an edit screen as shown in FIG. 10, aplug-in or a VC unit 80, which is in charge of processing the editedportion, modifies the source tree. A listener for mutation events can beregistered for each node in the source tree. Normally, a display unit ofthe plug-in or the VC unit 80 conforming to a vocabulary that belongs toeach node is registered as the listener. When the source tree ismodified, the DOM provider 32 traces toward a higher hierarchy from themodified node. If there is a registered listener, the DOM provider 32issues a mutation event to the listener. For example, referring to thedocument shown in FIG. 9, if a node which lies lower than the <html>node is modified, the mutation event is notified to the HTML unit 50,which is registered as a listener to the <html> node. At the same time,the mutation event is also notified to the SVG unit 60, which isregistered as a listener in an <svg> node, which lies upper to the<html> node. At this time, the HTML unit 50 updates the display byreferring to the modified source tree. Since the nodes belonging to thevocabulary of the SVG unit 60 itself are not modified, the SVG unit 60may disregard the mutation event.

Depending on the contents of the editing, modification of the display bythe HTML unit 50 may change the overall layout. In such a case, thelayout is updated by a screen layout management mechanism, e.g., theplug-in that handles the display of the highest node, in increments ofdisplay regions which are displayed according to the respectiveplug-ins. For example, in a case of expanding a display region managedby the HTML unit 50, first, the HTML unit 50 renders a part managed bythe HTML unit 50 itself, and determines the size of the display region.Then, the size of the display area is notified to the component thatmanages the screen layout so as to request the updating of the layout.Upon receipt of this notice, the component that manages the screenlayout rebuilds the layout of the display area for each plug-in.Accordingly, the display of the edited portion is appropriately updatedand the overall screen layout is updated.

Then, further detailed description will be made regarding functions andcomponents for providing the document processing 20 according to thebackground technique. In the following description, English terms areused for the class names and so forth.

A. Outline

The advent of the Internet has resulted in a nearly exponential increasein the number of documents processed and managed by users. The Web(World Wide Web), which serves as the core of the Internet, provides amassive storage capacity for storing such document data. The Web alsoprovides an information search system for such documents, in addition tothe function of storing the documents. In general, such a document isdescribed in a markup language. HTML (HyperText Markup Language) is anexample of a popular basic markup language. Such a document includeslinks, each of which links the document to another document stored atanother position on the Web. XML (eXtensible Markup Language) is apopular further improved markup language. Simple browsers which allowthe user to access and browse such Web documents have been developedusing object-oriented programming languages such as Java (trademark).

In general, documents described in markup languages are represented in abrowser or other applications in the form of a tree data structure. Thisstructure corresponds to a tree structure obtained as a result ofparsing a document. The DOM (Document Object Model) is a well-knowntree-based data structure model, which is used for representing andprocessing a document. The DOM provides a standard object set forrepresenting documents, examples of which include an HTML document, anXML document, etc. The DOM includes two basic components, i.e., astandard model which shows how the objects that represent the respectivecomponents included in a document are connected to one another, and astandard interface which allows the user to access and operate eachobject.

Application developers can support the DOM as an interface for handlingtheir own data structure and API (Application Program Interface). On theother hand, application providers who create documents can use thestandard interface of the DOM, instead of using the DOM as an interfacefor handling their own API. The capacity of the DOM to provide such astandard interface has been effective in promoting document sharing invarious environments, particularly on the Web. Several versions of theDOM have been defined, which are used in different environments andapplications.

A DOM tree is a hierarchical representation of the structure of adocument, which is based upon the content of a corresponding DOM. A DOMtree includes a “root”, and one or more “nodes” branching from the root.In some cases, an entire document is represented by a root alone. Anintermediate node can represent an element such as a table, or a row ora column of the table, for example. A “leaf” of a DOM tree generallyrepresents data which cannot be further parsed, such as text data, imagedata, etc. Each of the nodes of the DOM tree may be associated with anattribute that specifies a parameter of the element represented by thenode, such as a font, size, color, indent, etc.

HTML is a language which is generally used for creating a document.However, HTML is a language that provides formatting and layoutcapabilities, and it is not meant to be used as a data descriptionlanguage. The node of the DOM tree for representing an HTML document isdefined beforehand as an HTML formatting tag, and in general, HTML doesnot provide detailed data description and data tagging/labelingfunctions. This leads to a difficulty in providing a query format forthe data included in an HTML document.

The goal of network designers is to provide a software application whichallows the user to make a query for and to process a document providedon the Web. Such a software application should allow the user to make aquery for and to process a document, regardless of the display method,as long as the document is described in a hierarchically structuredlanguage. A markup language such as XML (eXtensible Markup Language)provides such functions.

Unlike HTML, XML has a well-known advantage of allowing the documentdesigner to label each data element using a tag which can be defined bythe document designer as desired. Such data elements can form ahierarchical structure. Furthermore, an XML document can include adocument type definition that specifies a “grammar” which specifies thetags used in the document and the relations between the tags. Also, inorder to define the display method of such a structured XML document,CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) or XSL (XML Style Language) is used.Additional information with respect to the features of the DOM, HTML,XML, CSS, XSL, and the related languages can be acquired via the Web,for example, from “http://www.w3.org/TR/”.

XPath provides common syntax and semantics which allow the position of aportion of an XML document to be specified. Examples of such functionsinclude a function of traversing a DOM tree that corresponds to an XMLdocument. This provides basic functions for operating character strings,values, and Boolean variables, which are related to the function ofdisplaying an XML document in various manners. XPath does not provide asyntax for how the XML document is displayed, e.g., a grammar whichhandles a document in the form of text in increments of lines orcharacters. Instead of such a syntax, XPath handles a document in theform of an abstract and logical structure. The use of XPath allows theuser to specify a position in an XML document via the hierarchicalstructure of a DOM tree of the XML document, for example. Also, XPathhas been designed so as to allow the user to test whether or not thenodes included in a DOM tree match a given pattern. Detailed descriptionof XPath can be obtained from http://www.w3.org/TR/xpath.

There is a demand for an effective document processing system based uponthe known features and advantages of XML, which provides a user-friendlyinterface which handles a document described in a markup language (e.g.,XML), and which allows the user to create and modify such a document.

Some of the system components as described here will be described in awell-known GUI (Graphical User Interface) paradigm which is called theMVC (Model-View-Controller) paradigm. The MVC paradigm divides a part ofan application or an interface of an application into three parts, i.e.,“model”, “view”, and “controller”. In the GUI field, the MVC paradigmhas been developed primarily for assigning the roles of “input”,“processing”, and “output”.

[input]→[processing]→[output]

[controller]→[model]→[view]

The MVC paradigm separately handles modeling of external data, visualfeedback for the user, and input from the user, using a model object(M), a view object (V), and a controller object (C). The controllerobject analyzes the input from the user input via a mouse and akeyboard, and maps such user actions to a command to be transmitted tothe model object and/or the view object. The model object operates so asto manage one or more data elements. Furthermore, the model object makesa response to a query with respect to the state of the data elements,and operates in response to an instruction to change the state of thedata elements. The view object has a function of presenting data to theuser in the form of a combination of graphics and text.

B. Overall Configuration of the Document Processing System

In order to make clear an embodiment of the document processing system,description will be made with reference to FIGS. 11 through 29.

FIG. 11( a) shows an example of a configuration comprising componentsthat provide the basic functions of a kind of document processing systemaccording to a conventional technique as will be mentioned later. Aconfiguration 10 includes a processor in the form of a CPU or amicroprocessor 11 connected to memory 12 via a communication path 13.The memory 12 may be provided in the form of any kind of ROM and/or RAMthat is currently available or that may be available in the future. In atypical case, the communication path 13 is provided in the form of abus. An input/output interface 16 for user input devices such as amouse, a keyboard, a speech recognition system, etc., and a displaydevice 15 (or other user interfaces) is connected to the bus thatprovides communication with the processor 11 and the memory 12. Such aconfiguration may be provided in the form of a standalone device. Also,such a configuration may be provided in the form of a network whichincludes multiple terminals and one or more servers connected to oneanother. Also, such a configuration may be provided in any known form.The present invention is not restricted to a particular layout of thecomponents, a particular architecture, e.g., a centralized architectureor a distributed architecture, or a particular one of various methods ofcommunication between the components.

Furthermore, description will be made below regarding the present systemand the embodiment regarding an arrangement including several componentsand sub-components that provide various functions. In order to providedesired functions, the components and the sub-components can be realizedby hardware alone, or by software alone, in addition to variouscombination of hardware and software. Furthermore, the hardware, thesoftware, and the various combinations thereof can be realized bygeneral purpose hardware, dedicated hardware, or various combinations ofgeneral purpose and dedicated hardware. Accordingly, the configurationof the component or the sub-component includes a general purpose ordedicated computation device for executing predetermined software thatprovides a function required for the component or the sub-component.

FIG. 11( b) is a block diagram which shows an overall configuration ofan example of the document processing system. Such a document processingsystem allows a document to be created and edited. Such a document maybe described in a desired language that has the functions required of amarkup language, such as XML etc. Note that some terms and titles willbe defined here for convenience of explanation. However, the generalscope of the disclosure according to the present invention is notintended to be restricted by such terms and titles thus defined here.

The document processing system can be classified into two basicconfigurations. A first configuration is an “execution environment” 101which provides an environment that allows the document processing systemto operate. For example, the execution environment provides basicutilities and functions that support both the system and the user duringthe processing and management of a document. A second configuration isan “application” 102 that comprises applications that run under anexecution environment. These applications include the documentsthemselves and various representations of the documents.

1. Execution Environment

The key component of the execution environment 101 is the ProgramInvoker(program invoking unit) 103. The ProgramInvoker 103 is a basic program,which is accessed in order to start up the document processing system.For example, upon the user logging on and starting up the documentprocessing system, the ProgramInvoker 103 is executed. TheProgramInvoker 103 has: a function of reading out and executing afunction added to the document processing system in the form of aplug-in; a function of starting up and executing an application; and afunction of reading out the properties related to a document, forexample. However, the functions of the ProgramInvoker 103 are notrestricted to these functions. Upon the user giving an instruction tostart up an application to be executed under the execution environment,the ProgramInvoker 103 finds and starts up the application, therebyexecuting the application.

Also, several components are attached to the ProgramInvoker 103,examples of which include a plug-in sub-system 104, a command sub-system105, and a resource module 109. Detailed description will be made belowregarding the configurations of such components.

a) Plug-In Sub-System

The plug-in sub-system is used as a highly flexible and efficientconfiguration which allows an additional function to be added to thedocument processing system. Also, the plug-in sub-system 104 can be usedfor modifying or deleting functions included in the document processingsystem. Also, various kinds of functions can be added or modified usingthe plug-in sub-system. For example, the plug-in sub-system 104 allowsan Editlet (editing unit) to be added, which supports functions ofallowing the user to edit via the screen. Also, the Editlet plug-insupports the functions of allowing the user to edit a vocabulary addedto the system.

The plug-in sub-system 104 includes a ServiceBroker (service brokerunit) 1041. The ServiceBroker 1041 manages a plug-in added to thedocument processing system, thereby mediating between the service thusadded and the document processing system.

Each of the desired functions is added in the form of a Service 1042.Examples of the available types of Services 1042 include: an ApplicationService; a ZoneFactory (zone creating unit) Service; an Editlet (editingunit) Service; a CommandFactory (command creating unit) Service; aConnectXPath (XPath management unit) Service; a CSSComputation (CSScalculation unit) Service; etc. However, the Service 1042 is notrestricted to such services. Detailed description will be made belowregarding these Services, and regarding the relation between theseServices and other components of the system, in order to facilitateunderstanding of the document processing system.

Description will be made below regarding the relation between a plug-inand a Service. The plug-in is a unit capable of including one or moreServiceProviders (service providing units). Each ServiceProvider has oneor more classes for corresponding Services. For example, upon using aplug-in having an appropriate software application, one or more Servicesare added to the system, thereby adding the corresponding functions tothe system.

b) Command Sub-System

The command sub-system 105 is used for executing a command relating tothe processing of a document. The command sub-system 105 allows the userto execute the processing of the document by executing a series ofcommands. For example, the command sub-system 105 allows the user toedit an XML DOM tree that corresponds to an XML document stored in thedocument processing system, and to process the XML document, by issuinga command. These commands may be input by key-strokes, mouse-clicks, oractions via other valid user interfaces. In some cases, when a singlecommand is input, one or more sub-commands are executed. In such a case,these sub-commands are wrapped in a single command, and the sub-commandsare consecutively executed. For example, let us consider a case in whichthe user has given an instruction to replace an incorrect word with acorrect word. In this case, a first sub-command is an instruction todetect an incorrect word in the document. Then, a second sub-command isan instruction to delete the incorrect word. Finally, a third functionis an instruction to insert a correct word. These three sub-commands maybe wrapped in a single command.

Each command may have a corresponding function, e.g., an “undo” functiondescribed later in detail. Such a function may also be assigned toseveral basic classes used for creating an object.

The key component of the command sub-system 105 is a CommandInvoker(command invoking unit) 1051 which operates so as to allow the user toselectively input and execute the commands. FIG. 11( b) shows anarrangement having a single CommandInvoker. Also, one or moreCommandInvokers may be used. Also, one or more commands may be executedat the same time. The CommandInvoker 1051 holds the functions andclasses required for executing the command. In the operation, theCommand 1052 is loaded in a Queue 1053. Then, the CommandInvoker 1051creates a command thread for executing the commands in sequence. In acase that no Command is currently being executed by the CommandInvoker,the Command 1052 provided to be executed by the CommandInvoker 1051 isexecuted. In a case that a command is currently being executed by theCommandInvoker, the new Command is placed at the end of the Queue 1053.However, each CommandInvoker 1051 executes only a single command at atime. In a case of failure in executing the Command thus specified, theCommandInvoker 1051 performs exception handling.

Examples of the types of Commands executed by the CommandInvoker 1051include: an UndoableCommand (undoable command) 1054; anAsynchronousCommand (asynchronous command) 1055; and a VCCommand (VCcommand) 1056. However, the types of commands are not restricted tothose examples. The UndoableCommand 1054 is a command which can beundone according to an instruction from the user. Examples ofUndoableCommands include a deletion command, a copy command, a textinsertion command, etc. Let us consider a case in which, in the courseof operation, the user has selected a part of a document, followingwhich the deletion command is applied to the part thus selected. In thiscase, the corresponding UndoableCommand allows the deleted part to berestored to the state that it was in before the part was deleted.

The VCCommand 1056 is stored in a Vocabulary Connection Descriptor (VCD)script file. The VCCommand 1056 is a user specified Command defined by aprogrammer. Such a Command may be a combination of more abstractCommands, e.g., a Command for adding an XML fragment, a Command fordeleting an XML fragment, a Command for setting an attribute, etc. Inparticular, such Commands are provided with document editing in mind.

The AsynchronousCommand 1055 is a command primarily provided for thesystem, such as a command for loading a document, a command for storinga document, etc. AsynchronousCommands 1055 are executed in anasynchronous manner, independently of UndoableCommands and VCCommands.Note that the AsynchronousCommand does not belong to the class ofundoable commands (it is not an UndoableCommand). Accordingly, anAsynchronousCommand cannot be undone.

c) Resource

The Resource 109 is an object that provides several functions to variousclasses. Examples of such system Resources include string resources,icon resources, and default key bind resources.

2. Application Component

The application component 102, which is the second principal componentof the document processing system, is executed under the executionenvironment 101. The application component 102 includes actual documentsand various kinds of logical and physical representations of thedocuments included in the system. Furthermore, the application component102 includes the configuration of the system used for management of thedocuments. The application component 102 further includes aUserApplication (user application) 106, an application core 108, a userinterface 107, and a CoreComponent (core component) 110.

a) User Application

The UserApplication 106 is loaded in the system along with theProgramInvoker 103. The UserApplication 106 serves as an binding agentthat connects a document, the various representations of the document,and the user interface required for communicating with the document. Forexample, let us consider a case in which the user creates a document setwhich is a part of a project. Upon loading the document set, anappropriate representation of the document is created. The userinterface function is added as a part of the UserApplication 106. Inother words, with regard to a document that forms a part of a project,the UserApplication 106 holds both the representation of the documentthat allows the user to communicate with the document, and various otherdocument conditions. Once the UserApplication 106 has been created, suchan arrangement allows the user to load the UserApplication 106 under theexecution environment in a simple manner every time there is a need tocommunicate with a document that forms a part of a project.

b) Core Component

The CoreComponent 110 provides a method which allows a document to beshared over multiple panes. As described later in detail, the Panedisplays a DOM tree, and provides a physical screen layout. For example,a physical screen is formed of multiple Panes within a screen, each ofwhich displays a corresponding part of the information. With such anarrangement, a document displayed on the screen for the user can bedisplayed in one or more Panes. Also, two different documents may bedisplayed on the screen in two different Panes.

As shown in FIG. 11( c), the physical layout of the screen is providedin a tree form. The Pane can be a RootPane (root pane) 1084. Also, thePane can be a SubPane (sub-pane) 1085. The RootPane 1084 is a Pane whichis positioned at the root of a Pane tree. The SubPanes 1085 are otherPanes that are distinct from the RootPane 1084.

The CoreComponent 110 provides a font, and serves as a source thatprovides multiple functional operations for a document. Examples of thetasks executed by the CoreComponent 110 include movement of a mousecursor across the multiple Panes. Other examples of the tasks thusexecuted include a task whereby a part of the document displayed on aPane is marked, and the part thus selected is duplicated on anotherPane.

c) Application Core

As described above, the application component 102 has a structure thatcomprises documents to be processed and managed by the system.Furthermore, the application component 102 includes various kinds oflogical and physical representations of the documents stored in thesystem. The application core 108 is a component of the applicationcomponent 102. The application core 108 provides a function of holdingan actual document along with all the data sets included in thedocument. The application core 108 includes a DocumentManager (documentmanager, document managing unit) 1081 and a Document (document) 1082itself.

Detailed description will be made regarding various embodiments of theDocumentManager 1081. The DocumentManager 1081 manages the Document1082. The DocumentManager 1081 is connected to the RootPane 1084, theSubPane 1085, a ClipBoard (clipboard) utility 1087, and a SnapShot(snapshot) utility 1088. The ClipBoard utility 1087 provides a methodfor holding a part of the document which is selected by the user as apart to be added to the clipboard. For example, let us consider a casein which the user deletes a part of a document, and stores the part thusdeleted in a new document as a reference document. In this case, thepart thus deleted is added to the ClipBoard.

Next, description will also be made regarding the SnapShot utility 1088.The SnapShot utility 1088 allows the system to store the current stateof an application before the state of the application changes from oneparticular state to another state.

d) User Interface

The user interface 107 is another component of the application component102, which provides a method that allows the user to physicallycommunicate with the system. Specifically, the user interface allows theuser to upload, delete, edit, and manage a document. The user interfaceincludes a Frame (frame) 1071, a MenuBar (menu bar) 1072, a StatusBar(status bar) 1073, and a URLBar (URL bar) 1074.

The Frame 1071 serves as an active region of a physical screen, as isgenerally known. The Menubar 1072 is a screen region including a menuthat provides selections to the user. The StatusBar 1073 is a screenregion that displays the status of the application which is beingexecuted. The URLBar 1074 provides a region which allows the user toinput a URL address for Internet navigation.

C. Document Management and Corresponding Data Structure

FIG. 12 shows a configuration of the DocumentManager 1081 in detail. TheDocumentManager 1081 includes a data structure and components used forrepresenting a document in the document processing system. Descriptionwill be made regarding such components in this sub-section using the MVCparadigm for convenience of explanation.

The DocumentManager 1081 includes a DocumentContainer (documentcontainer) 203 which holds all the documents stored in the documentprocessing system, and which serves as a host machine. A tool kit 201attached to the DocumentManager 1081 provides various tools used by theDocumentManager 1081. For example, the tool kit 201 provides aDomService (DOM service) which provides all the functions required forcreating, holding, and managing a DOM that corresponds to a document.Also, the tool kit 201 provides an IOManager (input/output managementunit) which is another tool for managing the input to/output from thesystem. Also, a StreamHandler (stream handler) is a tool for handlinguploading a document in the form of a bit stream. The tool kit 201includes such tools in the form of components, which are not shown inthe drawings in particular, and are not denoted by reference numerals.

With the system represented using the MVC paradigm, the model (M)includes a DOM tree model 202 of a document. As described above, each ofall the documents is represented by the document processing system inthe form of a DOM tree. Also, the document forms a part of theDocumentContainer 203.

1. DOM Model and Zone

The DOM tree which represents a document has a tree structure havingNodes (nodes) 2021. A Zone (zone) 209, which is a subset of the DOMtree, includes a region that corresponds to one or more Nodes within theDOM tree. For example, a part of a document can be displayed on ascreen. In this case, the part of the document that is visually outputis displayed using the Zone 209. The Zone is created, handled, andprocessed using a plug-in which is so-called ZoneFactory (ZoneFactory=Zone creating unit) 205. While the Zone represents a part of theDOM, the Zone can use one or more “namespaces”. It is well known that anamespace is a set that consists of unique names, each of which differsfrom every other name in the namespace. In other words, the namespacedoes not include the same names repeated.

2. Facets and the Relation Between Facets and Zones

A Facet 2022 is another component included in the model (M) component ofthe MVC paradigm. The Facet is used for editing the Node in the Zone.The Facet 2022 allows the user to access the DOM using a procedure thatcan be executed without affecting the content of the Zone. As describedbelow, such a procedure executes an important and useful operation withrespect to the Node.

Each node has a corresponding Facet. With such an arrangement, the facetis used for executing the operation instead of directly operating theNode in the DOM, thereby maintaining the integrity of the DOM. On theother hand, let us consider an arrangement in which an operation isperformed directly on the Node. With such an arrangement, multipleplug-ins can change the DOM at the same time, leading to a problem thatthe integrity of the DOM cannot be maintained.

The DOM standard stipulated by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)defines a standard interface for operating a Node. In practice, uniqueoperations particular to each vocabulary or each Node are required.Accordingly, such unique operations are preferably provided in the formof an API. The document processing system provides such an APIparticular to each Node in the form of a Facet which is attached to theNode. Such an arrangement allows a useful API to be attached to the DOMaccording to the DOM standard. Furthermore, with such an arrangement,after a standard DOM has been installed, unique APIs are attached to theDOM, instead of installing a unique DOM for each vocabulary. This allowsvarious kinds of vocabularies to be uniformly handled. Furthermore, suchan arrangement allows the user to properly process a document describedusing a desired combination of multiple vocabularies.

Each vocabulary is a set of tags (e.g., XML tags), which belong to acorresponding namespace. As described above, each namespace has a set ofunique names (in this case, tags). Each vocabulary is handled as asub-tree of the DOM tree which represents an XML document. The sub-treeincludes the Zone. In particular cases, the boundary between the tagsets is defined by the Zone. The Zone 209 is created using a Servicewhich is called a ZoneFactory 205. As described above, the Zone 209 isan internal representation of a part of the DOM tree which represents adocument. In order to provide a method that allows the user to access apart of such a document, the system requires a logical representation ofthe DOM tree. The logical representation of the DOM allows the computerto be informed of how the document is logically represented on a screen.A Canvas (canvas) 210 is a Service that operate so as to provide alogical layout that corresponds to the Zone.

On the other hand, a Pane 211 is a physical screen layout thatcorresponds to a logical layout provided by the Canvas 210. In practice,the user views only a rendering of the document, through text or imagesdisplayed on a screen.

Accordingly, there is a need to use a process for drawing text andimages on a screen to display the document on a screen. With such anarrangement, the document is displayed on a screen by the Canvas 210based upon the physical layout provided from the Pane 211.

The Canvas 210 that corresponds to the Zone 209 is created using anEditlet 206. The DOM of the document is edited using the Editlet 206 andthe Canvas 210. In order to maintain the integrity of the originaldocument, the Editlet 206 and the Canvas 210 use the Facet thatcorresponds to one or more Nodes included in the Zone 209. The Facet isoperated using a Command 207.

In general, the user communicates with a screen by moving a cursor on ascreen or typing a command. The Canvas 210, which provides a logicallayout on a screen, allows the user to input such cursor operations. TheCanvas 210 instructs the Facet to execute a corresponding action. Withsuch a relation, the cursor sub-system 204 serves as a controller (C)according to the MVC paradigm with respect to the DocumentManager 1081.The Canvas 210 also provides a task for handling an event. Examples ofsuch events handled by the canvas 210 include: a mouse click event; afocus movement event; and a similar action event occurring in responseto the user operation.

3. Outline of the Relation Between Zone, Facet, Canvas, and Pane

The document in the document processing system can be described from atleast four points of view. That is to say, it can be seen as: 1) a datastructure for maintaining the content and structure of a document in thedocument processing system, 2) means by which the user can edit thecontent of the document while maintaining the integrity of the document,3) a logical layout of the document on a screen, and 4) a physicallayout of the document on the screen. The components of the documentprocessing system that correspond to the aforementioned four points ofview are the Zone, Facet, Canvas, and Pane, respectively.

4. Undo Sub-System

As described above, all modifications made to the document (e.g.,document editing procedures) are preferably undoable. For example, letus consider a case in which the user executes an editing operation, andthen determines that the modification thus made to the document shouldbe undone. Referring to FIG. 12, the undo subsystem 212 provides an undocomponent of a document management unit. With such an arrangement, anUndoManager (undo manager=undo management unit) 2121 holds all theundoable operations for the document which the user can select to beundone.

Let us consider a case in which the user executes a command forreplacing a word in a document by another word, following which the userdetermines that, on reflection, the replacement of the word thuseffected should be undone. The undo sub-system supports such anoperation. The UndoManager 2121 holds such an operation of anUndoableEdit (undoable edit) 2122.

5. Cursor Sub-System

As described above, the controller unit of the MVC may include thecursor sub-system 204. The cursor sub-system 204 receives the input fromthe user. In general, such an input provides command input and/or editoperation. Accordingly, with respect to the DocumentManager 1081, thecursor sub-system 204 serves as the controller (C) component accordingto the MVC paradigm.

6. View

As described above, the Canvas 210 represents the logical layout of adocument to be displayed on a screen. In a case that the document is anXHTML document, the Canvas 210 may include a box tree 208 that providesa logical representation of a document, which indicates how the documentis displayed on a screen. With respect to the DocumentManager 1081, thebox tree 208 may be included in the view (V) component according to theMVC paradigm.

D. Vocabulary Connection

The important feature of the document processing system is that thedocument processing system provides an environment which allows the userto handle an XML document via other representations to which thedocument has been mapped. With such an environment, upon the userediting a representation to which the source XML document has beenmapped, the source XML document is modified according to the editoperation while maintaining the integrity of the XML document.

A document described in a markup language, e.g., an XML document iscreated based upon a vocabulary defined by a document type definition.The vocabulary is a set of tags. The vocabulary can be defined asdesired. This allows a limitless number of vocabularies to be created.It does not serve any practical purpose to provide dedicatedviewer/editor environments for such a limitless number of vocabularies.The vocabulary connection provides a method for solving this problem.

For example, a document can be described in two or more markuplanguages. Specific examples of such markup languages used fordescribing a document include: XHTML (eXtensible HyperText MarkupLanguage), SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics), MathML (Mathematical MarkupLanguage), and other markup languages. In other words, such a markuplanguage can be handled in the same way as is the vocabulary or the tagset in XML.

A vocabulary is processed using a vocabulary plug-in. In a case that thedocument has been described in a vocabulary for which there is noavailable plug-in in the document processing system, the document ismapped to a document described in another vocabulary for which a plug-inis available, thereby displaying the document. Such a function enables adocument to be properly displayed even if the document has beendescribed in a vocabulary for which there is no available plug-in.

The vocabulary connection has a function of acquiring a definition file,and a function of mapping from one vocabulary to another differentvocabulary based upon the definition file thus acquired. With such anarrangement, a document described in one vocabulary can be mapped to adocument described in another vocabulary. As described above, thevocabulary connection maps a document described in one vocabulary toanother document described in another vocabulary for which there is acorresponding display/editing plug-in, thereby allowing the user todisplay and edit the document.

As described above, in general, each document is described by thedocument processing system in the form of a DOM tree having multiplenodes. The “definition file” describes the relations among the differentnodes. Furthermore, the definition file specifies whether or not theelement values and the attribute values can be edited for each node.Also, the definition file may specify an expression using the elementvalues and the attribute values of the nodes.

Using the mapping function by applying the definition file, adestination DOM tree can be created. As described above, the relationbetween the source DOM tree and the destination DOM tree is created andheld. The vocabulary connection monitors the relation between the sourceDOM tree and the destination DOM tree. Upon reception of an editinginstruction from the user, the vocabulary connection modifies thecorresponding node included in the source DOM tree. Subsequently, a“mutation event” is issued, which gives notice that the source DOM treehas been modified. Then, the destination DOM tree is modified inresponse to the mutation event.

The use of the vocabulary connection allows a relatively minorvocabulary used by a small number of users to be converted into anothermajor vocabulary. Thus, such an arrangement provides a desirable editingenvironment, which allows a document to be properly displayed even ifthe document is described in a minor vocabulary used by a small numberof users.

As described above, the vocabulary connection sub-system which is a partof the document processing system provides a function that allows adocument to be represented in multiple different ways.

FIG. 13 shows a vocabulary connection (VC) sub-system 300. The VCsub-system 300 provides a method for representing a document in twodifferent ways while maintaining the integrity of the source document.For example, a single document may be represented in two different waysusing two different vocabularies. Also, one representation may be asource DOM tree, and the other representation may be a destination DOMtree, as described above.

1. Vocabulary Connection Sub-System

The functions of the vocabulary connection sub-system 300 are providedto the document processing system using a plug-in which is called aVocabularyConnection 301. With such an arrangement, a correspondingplug-in is requested for each Vocabulary 305 used for representing thedocument. For example, let us consider a case in which a part of thedocument is described in HTML, and the other part is described in SVG.In this case, the vocabulary plug-in that corresponds to HTML and thevocabulary plug-in that corresponds to SVG are requested.

The VocabularyConnection plug-in 301 creates a proper VCCanvas(vocabulary connection canvas) 310 that corresponds to a documentdescribed in a proper Vocabulary 305 for the Zone 209 or the Pane 211.Using the VocabularyConnection 301, a modification made to the Zone 209within the source DOM tree is transmitted to the corresponding Zonewithin another DOM tree 306 according to a conversion rule. Theconversion rule is described in the form of a vocabulary connectiondescriptor (VCD). Furthermore, a corresponding VCManager (vocabularyconnection manager) 302 is created for each VCD file that corresponds tosuch a conversion between the source DOM and the destination DOM.

2. Connector

A Connector 304 connects the source node included within the source DOMtree and the destination node included within the destination DOM tree.The Connector 304 operates so as to monitor modifications (changes) madeto the source node included within the source DOM tree and the sourcedocument that corresponds to the source node. Then, the Connector 304modifies the corresponding node of the destination DOM tree. With suchan arrangement, the Connector 304 is the only object which is capable ofmodifying the destination DOM tree. Specifically, the user can modifyonly the source document and the corresponding source DOM tree. Withsuch an arrangement, the Connector 304 modifies the destination DOM treeaccording to the modification thus made by the user.

The Connectors 304 are logically linked to each other so as to form atree structure. The tree structure formed of the Connectors 304 isreferred to as a ConnectorTree (connector tree). The connector 304 iscreated using a Service which is called a ConnectorFactory (connectorfactory=connector generating unit) 303. The ConnectorFactory 303 createsthe Connectors 304 based upon a source document, and links theConnectors 304 to each other so as to create a ConnectorTree. TheVocabularyConnectionManager 302 holds the ConnectorFactory 303.

As described above, a vocabulary is a set of tags for a namespace. Asshown in the drawing, the VocabularyConnection 301 creates theVocabulary 305 for a document. Specifically, the Vocabulary 305 iscreated by analyzing the document file, and then creating a properVocabularyConnectionManager 302 for mapping between the source DOM andthe destination DOM. Furthermore, a proper relation is created betweenthe ConnectorFactory 303 for creating the Connectors, the ZoneFactory205 for creating the Zones 209, and the Editlet 206 for creating theCanvases. In a case that the user has discarded or deleted a documentstored in the system, the corresponding VocabularyConnectionManager 302is deleted.

The Vocabulary 305 creates the VCCanvas 310.

Furthermore, the connectors 304 and the destination DOM tree 306 arecreated corresponding to the creation of the VCCanvas 310.

The source DOM and the Canvas correspond to the Model (M) and the View(V), respectively. However, such a representation is useful only in acase that the target vocabulary allows a document to be displayed on ascreen. With such an arrangement, the display is performed by thevocabulary plug-in. Such a vocabulary plug-in is provided for each ofthe principal vocabularies, e.g., XHTML, SVG, and MathML. Such avocabulary plug-in is used for the target vocabulary. Such anarrangement provides a method for mapping a vocabulary to anothervocabulary using a vocabulary connection descriptor.

Such mapping is useful only in a case that the target vocabulary can bemapped, and a method has been defined beforehand for displaying such adocument thus mapped on a screen. Such a rendering method is defined inthe form of a standard defined by an authority such as the W3C.

In a case that the processing requires vocabulary connection, theVCCanvas is used. In this case, the view for the source cannot bedirectly created, and accordingly, the Canvas for the source is notcreated. In this case, the VCCanvas is created using the ConnectorTree.The VCCanvas handles only the conversion of the event, but does notsupport display of the document on a screen.

3. DestinationZone, Pane, and Canvas

As described above, the purpose of the vocabulary connection sub-systemis to create and hold two representations of a single document at thesame time. With such an arrangement, the second representation isprovided in the form of a DOM tree, which has been described as thedestination DOM tree. The display of the document in the form of thesecond representation requires the DestinationZone, Canvas, and Pane.

When the VCCanvas is created, a corresponding DestinationPane 307 isalso created. Furthermore, a corresponding DestinationCanvas 308 and acorresponding BoxTree 309 are created. Also, the VCCanvas 310 isassociated with the Pane 211 and the Zone 209 for the source document.

The DestinationCanvas 308 provides a logical layout of a document in theform of the second representation. Specifically, the DestinationCanvas308 provides user interface functions such as a cursor function and aselection function, for displaying a document in the form of adestination representation of the document. The event occurring at theDestinationCanvas 308 is supplied to the Connector. TheDestinationCanvas 308 notifies the Connector 304 of the occurrence of amouse event, a keyboard event, a drag-and-drop event, and eventsparticular to the destination representation (second representation).

4. Vocabulary Connection Command Sub-System

The vocabulary connection (VC) sub-system 300 includes a vocabularyconnection (VC) command sub-system 313 in the form of a component. Thevocabulary connection command sub-system 313 creates a VCCommand(vocabulary connection command) 315 used for executing a command withrespect to the vocabulary connection sub-system 300. The VCCommand canbe created using a built-in CommandTemplate (command template) and/orcreated from scratch using a script language supported by a scriptsub-system 314.

Examples of such command templates include an “If” command template,“When” command template, “Insert” command template, etc. These templatesare used for creating a VCCommand.

5. XPath Sub-System

An XPath sub-system 316 is an important component of the documentprocessing system, and supports the vocabulary connection. In general,the Connector 304 includes XPath information. As described above, one ofthe tasks of the vocabulary connection is to modify the destination DOMtree according to the change in the source DOM tree. The XPathinformation includes one or more XPath representations used fordetermining a subset of the source DOM tree which is to be monitored todetect changes and/or modifications.

6. Outline of Source DOM Tree, Destination DOM Tree, and ConnectorTree

The source DOM tree is a DOM tree or a Zone of a document described in avocabulary before vocabulary conversion. The source DOM tree node isreferred to as the source node.

On the other hand, the destination DOM tree is a DOM tree or a Zone ofthe same document as that of the source DOM tree, and which is describedin another vocabulary after having been converted by mapping, asdescribed above in connection with the vocabulary connection. Here, thedestination DOM tree node is referred to as the destination node.

The ConnectorTree is a hierarchical representation which is formed basedupon the Connectors that represent the relation between the source nodesand the destination nodes. The Connectors monitor the source node andthe modifications applied to the source document, and modify thedestination DOM tree. The Connector is the only object that is permittedto modify the destination DOM tree.

E. Event Flow in the Document Processing System

In practice, the program needs to respond to the commands input from theuser. The “event” concept provides a method for describing and executingthe user action executed on a program. Many high-level languages, e.g.,Java (trademark) require events, each of which describes a correspondinguser action. On the other hand, conventional programs need to activelycollect information for analyzing the user's actions, and for executionof the user's actions by the program itself. This means that, afterinitialization of the program, the program enters loop processing formonitoring the user's actions, which enables appropriate processing tobe performed in response to any user action input by the user via thescreen, keyboard, mouse, or the like. However, such a process isdifficult to manage. Furthermore, such an arrangement requires a programwhich performs loop processing in order to wait for the user's actions,leading to a waste of CPU cycles.

Many languages employ distinctive paradigms in order to solve suchproblems. One of these paradigms is event-driven programming, which isemployed as the basis of all current window-based systems. In thisparadigm, all user actions belong to sets of abstract phenomena whichare called “events”. An event provides a sufficiently detaileddescription of a corresponding user action. With such an arrangement, ina case that an event to be monitored has occurred, the system notifiesthe program to that effect, instead of an arrangement in which theprogram actively collects events occurring according to the user'sactions.

A program that communicates with the user using such a method isreferred to as an “event-driven” program.

In many cases, such an arrangement handles an event using a “Event”class that acquires the basic properties of all the events which canoccur according to the user's actions.

Before the use of the document processing system, the events for thedocument processing system itself and a method for handling such eventsare defined. With such an arrangement, several types of events are used.For example, a mouse event is an event that occurs according to theaction performed by the user via a mouse. The user action involving themouse is transmitted to the mouse event by the Canvas 210. As describedabove, it can be said that the Canvas is the foremost level ofinteraction between the user and the system. As necessary, this foremostCanvas level hands over the event content to the child levels.

On the other hand, a keystroke event is issued from the Canvas 210. Thekeystroke event acquires a real-time focus. That is to say, a keystrokeevent always involves an operation. The keystroke event input to theCanvas 210 is also transmitted to the parent of the Canvas 210. Keyinput actions are processed via other events that allows the user toinsert a character string. The event for handling the insertion of acharacter string occurs according to the user action in which acharacter is input via the keyboard. Examples of “other events” includeother events which are handled in the same way as a drag event, a dropevent, and a mouse event.

1. Handling of an Event Outside of the Vocabulary Connection

An event is transmitted using an event thread. The state of the Canvas210 is modified upon reception of an event. As necessary, the Canvas 210posts the Command 1052 to the CommandQueue 1053.

2. Handling of an Event within the Vocabulary Connection

An XHTMLCanvas 1106, which is an example of the DestinationCanvas,receives events that occur, e.g., a mouse event, a keyboard event, adrag-and-drop event, and events particular to the vocabulary, using theVocabularyConnection plug-in 301. The connector 304 is notified of theseevents. More specifically, the event passes through a SourcePane 1103, aVCCanvas 1104, a DestinationPane 1105, a DestinationCanvas 1106 which isan example of the DestinationCanvas, a destination DOM tree, and aConnectorTree, within the VocabularyConnection plug-in, as shown in FIG.21( b).

F. ProgramInvoker and the Relation Between ProgramInvoker and OtherComponents

FIG. 14( a) shows the ProgramInvoker 103 and the relation between theProgramInvoker 103 and other components in more detail. TheProgramInvoker 103 is a basic program executed under the executionenvironment, which starts up the document processing system. As shown inFIG. 11( b), the UserApplication 106, the ServiceBroker 1041, theCommandInvoker 1051, and the Resource 109 are each connected to theProgramInvoker 103. As described above, the application 102 is acomponent executed under the execution environment. Also, theServiceBroker 1041 manages the plug-ins, which provide various functionsto the system. On the other hand, the CommandInvoker 1051 executes acommand provided from the user, and holds the classes and functions forexecuting the command.

1. Plug-In and Service

A more detailed description will be made regarding the ServiceBroker1041 with reference to FIG. 14( b). As described above, theServiceBroker 1041 manages the plug-ins (and corresponding services),which allows various functions to be added to the system. The Service1042 is the lowermost layer, having a function of adding the features tothe document processing system, and a function of modifying the featuresof the document processing system. A “Service” consists of two parts,i.e., a part formed of ServiceCategories 401 and another part formed ofServiceProviders 402. As shown in FIG. 14( c), one ServiceCategory 401may include multiple corresponding ServiceProviders 402. EachServiceProvider operates a part of, or the entire functions of, thecorresponding ServiceCategory. Also, the ServiceCategory 401 defines thetype of Service.

The Services can be classified into three types, i.e., a “featureservice” which provides predetermined features to the documentprocessing system, an “application service” which is an applicationexecuted by the document processing system, and an “environment” servicethat provides the features necessary throughout the document processingsystem.

FIG. 14( d) shows an example of a Service. In this example, with respectto the Category of the application Service, the system utilitycorresponds to the ServiceProvider. In the same way, the Editlet 206 isthe Category, and an HTMLEditlet and the SVGEditlet are thecorresponding ServiceProviders. Also, the ZoneFactory 205 is anotherService Category, and has a corresponding ServiceProvider (not shown).

As described above, a plug-in adds functions to the document processingsystem. Also, a plug-in can be handled as a unit that comprises severalServiceProviders 402 and the classes that correspond to theServiceProviders 402. Each plug-in has dependency specified in thedefinition file and a ServiceCategory 401.

2. Relation Between the ProgramInvoker and the Application

FIG. 14( e) shows the relation between the ProgramInvoker 103 and theUserApplication 106 in more detail. The required documents and data areloaded from the storage. All the required plug-ins are loaded in theServiceBroker 1041. The ServiceBroker 1041 holds and manages all theplug-ins. Each plug-in is physically added to the system. Also, thefunctions of the plug-in can be loaded from the storage. When thecontent of a plug-in is loaded, the ServiceBroker 1041 defines thecorresponding plug-in. Subsequently, a corresponding UserApplication 106is created, and the UserApplication 106 thus created is loaded in theexecution environment 101, thereby attaching the plug-in to theProgramInvoker 103.

G. The Relation Between the Application Service and the Environment

FIG. 15( a) shows the configuration of the application service loaded inthe ProgramInvoker 103 in more detail. The CommandInvoker 1051, which isa component of the command sub-system 105, starts up or executes theCommand 1052 in the ProgramInvoker 103. With such a document processingsystem, the Command 1052 is a command used for processing a documentsuch as an XML document, and editing the corresponding XML DOM tree. TheCommandInvoker 1051 holds the classes and functions required to executethe Command 1052.

Also, the ServiceBroker 1041 is executed within the ProgramInvoker 103.The UserApplication 106 is connected to the user interface 107 and theCoreComponent 110. The CoreComponent 110 provides a method which allowsall the Panes to share a document. Furthermore, the CoreComponent 110provides a font, and serves as a tool kit for the Pane.

FIG. 15( b) shows the relation between the Frame 1071, the MenuBar 1072,and the StatusBar 1073.

H. Application Core

FIG. 16( a) provides a more detailed description of the application core108, which holds the whole document, and a part of the document, and thedata of the document. The CoreComponent 110 is attached to theDocumentManager 1081 for managing the documents 1082. TheDocumentManager 1081 is the owner of all the documents 1082 stored inmemory in association with the document processing system.

In order to display a document on a screen in a simple manner, theDocumentManager 1081 is also connected to the RootPane 1084. Also, thefunctions of the Clipboard 1087, a Drag&Drop 601, and an Overlay 602 areattached to the CoreComponent 110.

The SnapShot 1088 is used for restoring the application to a givenstate. Upon the user executing the SnapShot 1088, the current state ofthe application is detected and stored. Subsequently, when theapplication state changes, the content of the application state thusstored is maintained. FIG. 16( b) shows the operation of the SnapShot1088. With such an arrangement, upon the application switching from oneURL to another, the SnapShot 1088 stores the previous state. Such anarrangement allows operations to be performed forward and backward in aseamless manner.

I. Document Structure within the DocumentManager

FIG. 17( a) provides a more detailed description of the DocumentManager1081, and shows the DocumentManager holding documents according to apredetermined structure. As shown in FIG. 11( b), the DocumentManager1081 manages the documents 1082. With an example shown in FIG. 17( a),one of the multiple documents is a RootDocument (root document) 701, andthe other documents are SubDocuments (sub-documents) 702. TheDocumentManager 1081 is connected to the RootDocument 701. Furthermore,the RootDocument 701 is connected to all the SubDocuments 702.

As shown in FIG. 12 and FIG. 17( a), the DocumentManager 1081 isconnected to the DocumentContainer 203, which is an object for managingall the documents 1082. The tools that form a part of the tool kit 201(e.g., XML tool kit) including a DOMService 703 and an IOManager 704 aresupplied to the DocumentManager 1081. Referring to FIG. 17( a) again,the DOM service 703 creates a DOM tree based upon a document managed bythe DocumentManager 1081. Each document 705, whether it is aRootDocument 701 or a SubDocument 702, is managed by a correspondingDocumentContainer 203.

FIG. 17( b) shows the documents A through E managed in a hierarchicalmanner. The document A is a RootDocument. On the other hand, thedocuments B through D are the SubDocuments of the document A. Thedocument E is the SubDocument of the document D. The left side in FIG.17( b) shows an example of the documents displayed on a screen accordingto the aforementioned hierarchical management structure. In thisexample, the document A, which is the RootDocument, is displayed in theform of a base frame. On the other hand, the documents B through D,which are the SubDocuments of the document A, are displayed in the formof sub-frames included in the base frame A. On the other hand, thedocument E, which is the SubDocument of the document D, is displayed ona screen in the form of a sub-frame of the sub-frame D.

Referring to FIG. 17( a) again, an UndoManager (undo manager=undomanagement unit) 706 and an UndoWrapper (undo wrapper) 707 are createdfor each DocumentContainer 203. The UndoManager 706 and the UndoWrapper707 are used for executing an undoable command. Such a feature allowsthe user to reverse a modification which has been applied to thedocument according to an editing operation. Here, the modification ofthe SubDocument significantly affects the RootDocument. The undooperation performed under such an arrangement gives consideration to themodification that affects other hierarchically managed documents,thereby preserving the document integrity over all the documents managedin a particular hierarchical chain, as shown in FIG. 17( b), forexample.

The UndoWrapper 707 wraps undo objects with respect to the SubDocumentsstored in the DocumentContainer 203. Then, the UndoWrapper 707 connectsthe undo objects thus wrapped to the undo object with respect to theRootDocument. With such an arrangement, the UndoWrapper 707 acquiresavailable undo objects for an UndoableEditAcceptor (undoable editacceptor=undoable edit reception unit) 709.

The UndoManager 706 and the UndoWrapper 707 are connected to theUndoableEditAcceptor 709 and an UndoableEditSource (undoable editsource) 708. Note that the Document 705 may be the UndoableEditSource708 or a source of an undoable edit object, as can be readily understoodby those skilled in this art.

J. Undo Command and Undo Framework

FIG. 18( a) and FIG. 18( b) provide a more detailed description withrespect to an undo framework and an undo command. As shown in FIG. 18(a), an UndoCommand 801, RedoCommand 802, and an UndoableEditCommand 803are commands that can be loaded in the CommandInvoker 1051, and whichare serially executed. The UndoableEditCommand 803 is further attachedto the UndoableEditSource 708 and the UndoableEditAcceptor 709. Examplesof such undoableEditCommands include a “foo” EditCommand 804 and a “bar”EditCommand 805.

1. Execution of UndoableEditCommand

FIG. 18( b) shows execution of the UndoableEditCommand. First, let usconsider a case in which the user edits the Document 705 using an editcommand. In the first step S1, the UndoableEditAcceptor 709 is attachedto the UndoableEditSource 708 which is a DOM tree of the Document 705.In the second step S2, the Document 705 is edited using an API for theDOM according to a command issued by the user. In the third step S3, alistener of the mutation event is notified of the modification. That isto say, in this step, the listener that monitors all modifications madeto the DOM tree detects such an edit operation. In the fourth step S4,the UndoableEdit is stored as an object of the UndoManager 706. In thefifth step S5, the UndoableEditAcceptor 709 is detached from theUndoableEditSource 708. Here, the UndoableEditSource 708 may be theDocument 705 itself.

K. Procedure for Loading a Document to the System

Description has been made in the aforementioned sub-sections regardingvarious components and sub-components of the system. Description will bemade below regarding methods for using such components. FIG. 19( a)shows the outline of the operation for loading a document to thedocument processing system. Detailed description will be made regardingeach step with reference to examples shown in FIGS. 24 through 28.

In brief, the document processing system creates a DOM based upon thedocument data which is provided in the form of a binary data stream.First, an ApexNode (apex node top node) is created for the targeted partof the document, which is a part of the document that belongs to theZone. Subsequently, the corresponding Pane is identified. The Pane thusidentified generates the Zone and Canvas from the ApexNode and thephysical screen. Then, the Zone creates a Facet for each node, andprovides the necessary information to the Facets. On the other hand, theCanvas creates a data structure for rendering the nodes based upon theDOM tree.

More specifically, the document is loaded from a storage 901. Then, aDOM tree 902 of the document is created. Subsequently, a correspondingDocumentContainer 903 is created for holding the document. TheDocumentContainer 903 is attached to the DocumentManager 904. The DOMtree includes the root node, and in some cases includes multiplesecondary nodes.

Such a document generally includes both text data and graphics data.Accordingly, the DOM tree may include an SVG sub-tree, in addition to anXHTML sub-tree. The XHTML sub-tree includes an ApexNode 905 for XHTML.In the same way, the SVG sub-tree includes an ApexNode 906 for SVG.

In Step 1, the ApexNode 906 is attached to a Pane 907 which is a logicallayout of the screen. In Step 2, the Pane 907 issues a request for theCoreComponent which is the PaneOwner (pane owner=owner of the pane) 908to provide a ZoneFactory for the ApexNode 906. In Step 3, in the form ofa response, the PaneOwner 908 provides the ZoneFactory and the Editletwhich is a CanvasFactory for the ApexNode 906.

In Step 4, the Pane 907 creates a Zone 909. The Zone 909 is attached tothe Pane 907. In Step 5, the Zone 909 creates a Facet for each node, andattaches the Facets thus created to the respective nodes. In Step 6, thePane 907 creates a Canvas 910. The Canvas 910 is attached to the Pane907. The Canvas 910 includes various Commands. In Step 7, the Canvas 910creates a data structure for rendering the document on a screen. In acase of XHTML, the data structure includes a box tree structure.

1. MVC of the Zone

FIG. 19( b) shows the outline of a structure of the Zone using the MVCparadigm. In this case, with respect to a document, the Zone and theFacets are the input, and accordingly the model (M) includes the Zoneand the Facets. On the other hand, the Canvas and the data structure forrendering a document on a screen are the output, in the form of an imagedisplayed on a screen for the user. Accordingly, the view (V)corresponds to the Canvas and the data structure. The Command executescontrol operations for the document and the various components thatcorrespond to the document. Accordingly, the control (C) includes theCommands included in the Canvas.

L. Representation of a Document

Description will be made below regarding an example of a document andvarious representations thereof. The document used in this exampleincludes both text data and image data. The text data is representedusing XHTML, and the image data is represented using SVG. FIG. 20 showsin detail the relation between the components of the document and thecorresponding objects represented in the MVC. In this example, aDocument 1001 is attached to a DocumentContainer 1002 for holding theDocument 1001. The document is represented in the form of a DOM tree1003. The DOM tree includes an ApexNode 1004.

The ApexNode is indicated by a solid circle. Each of the nodes otherthan the ApexNode is indicated by an empty circle. Each Facet used forediting the node is indicated by a triangle, and is attached to thecorresponding node. Here, the document includes text data and imagedata. Accordingly, the DOM tree of the document includes an XHTMLcomponent and an SVG component. The ApexNode 1004 is the top node of theXHTML sub-tree. The ApexNode 1004 is attached to an XHTMLPane 1005 whichis the top pane for physically representing the XHTML component of thedocument. Furthermore, the ApexNode 1004 is attached to an XHTMLZone1006 which is a part of the DOM tree of the document.

Also, the Facet 1041 that corresponds to the Node 1004 is attached tothe XHTMLZone 1006. The XHTMLZone 1006 is attached to the XHTMLPane1005. The XHTMLEditlet creates a XHTMLCanvas 1007 which is a logicalrepresentation of the document. The XHTMLCanvas 1007 is attached to theXHTMLPane 1005. The XHTMLCanvas 1007 creates a BoxTree 1009 for theXHTML component of the Document 1001. Various commands 1008 necessaryfor holding and displaying the XHTML component of the document are addedto the XHTMLCanvas 1007.

In the same way, an ApexNode 1010 of the SVG sub-tree of the document isattached to an SVGZone 1011 which is a part of the DOM tree of thedocument 1001, and which represents the SVG component of the document.The ApexNode 1010 is attached to an SVGPane 1013 which is the top Panefor physically representing the SVG part of the document.

An SVGCanvas 1012 for logically representing the SVG component of thedocument is created by the SVGEditlet, and is attached to an SVGPane1013. The data structure and the commands for rendering the SVGcomponent of the document on a screen are attached to the SVGCanvas. Forexample, this data structure may include circles, lines, and rectangles,and so forth, as shown in the drawing.

While description has been made regarding the representation of adocument with reference to FIG. 20, further description will be maderegarding a part of such examples of the representations of the documentusing the above-described MVC paradigm with reference to FIG. 21( a).FIG. 21( a) shows a simplified relation between M and V (MV) withrespect to the XHTML components of the document 1001. In this case, themodel is the XHTMLZone 1101 for the XHTML component of the Document1001. The tree structure of the XHTMLZone includes several Nodes and thecorresponding Facets. With such an arrangement, the correspondingXHTMLZone and the Pane are a part of the model (M) component of the MVCparadigm. On the other hand, the view (V) component of the MVC paradigmcorresponds to the XHTMLCanvas 1102 and the BoxTree that correspond tothe XHTML component of the Document 1001. With such an arrangement, theXHTML component of the document is displayed on a screen using theCanvas and the Commands included in the Canvas. Note that the eventsoccurring due to the keyboard action and the mouse input proceed in theopposite direction to that of the output.

The SourcePane provides an additional function, i.e., serves as a DOMowner. FIG. 21( b) shows the operation in which the vocabularyconnection is provided for the components of the Document 1001 shown inFIG. 21( a). The SourcePane 1103 that serves as a DOM holder includes asource DOM tree of the document. The ConnectorTree 1104 is created bythe ConnectorFactory, and creates the DestinationPane 1105 which alsoserves as an owner of the destination DOM. The DestinationPane 1105 isprovided in the form of the XHTMLDestinationCanvas 1106 having a boxtree layout.

M. The Relation Between Plug-In Sub-System, Vocabulary Connection, andConnector

FIGS. 22( a) through 22(c) provide further detailed description withrespect to the plug-in sub-system, the vocabulary connection, and theConnector, respectively. The Plug-in sub-system is used for adding afunction to the document processing system or for replacing a functionof the document processing system. The plug-in sub-system includes theServiceBroker 1041. A ZoneFactoryService 1201 attached to theServiceBroker 1041 creates a Zone that corresponds to a part of thedocument. Also, an EditletService 1202 is attached to the ServiceBroker1041. The EditletService 1202 creates a Canvas that corresponds to theNodes included in the Zone.

Examples of the ZoneFactories include an XHTMLZoneFactory 1211 and anSVGZoneFactory 1212, which create an XHTMLZone and an SVGZone,respectively. As described above with reference to an example of thedocument, the text components of the document may be represented bycreating an XHTMLZone. On the other hand, the image data may berepresented using an SVGZone. Examples of the EditletService includes anXHTMLEditlet 1221 and an SVGEditlet 1222.

FIG. 22( b) shows the vocabulary connection in more detail. Thevocabulary connection is an important feature of the document processingsystem, which allows a document to be represented and displayed in twodifferent manners while maintaining the integrity of the document. TheVCManager 302 that holds the ConnectorFactory 303 is a part of thevocabulary connection sub-system. The ConnectorFactory 303 creates theConnector 304 for the document. As described above, the Connectormonitors the node included in the source DOM, and modifies the nodeincluded in the destination DOM so as to maintain the integrity of theconnection between the two representations.

A Template 317 represents several node conversion rules. The vocabularyconnection descriptor (VCD) file is a template list which representsseveral rules for converting a particular path, an element, or a set ofelements that satisfies a predetermined rule into another element. Allthe Templates 317 and CommandTemplates 318 are attached to the VCManager302. The VCManager is an object for managing all the sections includedin the VCD file. A VCManager object is created for each VCD file.

FIG. 22( c) provides further detailed description with respect to theConnector. The ConnectorFactory 303 creates a Connector based upon thesource document. The ConnectorFactory 303 is attached to the Vocabulary,the Template, and the ElementTemplate, thereby creating aVocabularyConnector, a TemplateConnector, and an ElementConnector,respectively.

The VCManager 302 holds the ConnectorFactory 303. In order to create aVocabulary, the corresponding VCD file is read out. As described above,the ConnectorFactory 303 is created. The ConnectorFactory 303corresponds to the ZoneFactory for creating a Zone, and the Editlet forcreating a Canvas.

Subsequently, the EditletService for the target vocabulary creates aVCCanvas. The VCCanvas also creates the Connector for the ApexNodeincluded in the source DOM tree or the Zone. As necessary, a Connectoris created recursively for each child. The ConnectorTree is createdusing a set of the templates stored in the VCD file.

The template is a set of rules for converting elements of a markuplanguage to other elements. For example, each template is matched to asource DOM tree or a Zone. In a case of a suitable match, an apexConnector is created. For example, a template “A/*/D” matches all thebranches starting from the node A and ending with the node D.

In the same way, a template “//B” matches all the “B” nodes from theroot.

N. Example of VCD File with Respect to ConnectorTree

Further description will be made regarding an example of the processingwith respect to a predetermined document. In this example, a documententitled “MySampleXML” is loaded in the document processing system. FIG.23 shows an example of the VCD script for the “MySampleXML” file, whichuses the VCManager and the ConnectorFactoryTree. In this example, thescript file includes a vocabulary section, a template section, and acomponent that corresponds to the VCManager. With regard to the tag“vcd:vocabulary”, the attribute “match” is set to “sample:root”, theattribute “label” is set to “MySampleXML”, and the attribute“call-template” is set to “sample template”.

In this example, with regard to the VCManager for the document“MySampleXML”, the Vocabulary includes the apex element “sample:root”.The corresponding UI label is “MySampleXML”. In the template section,the tag is “vcd:template”, and the name is set to “sample:template”.

O. Detailed Description of an Example of a Method for Loading a File tothe System

FIGS. 24 through 28 provide a detailed description regarding loading thedocument “MySampleXML” in the system. In Step 1 shown in FIG. 24( a),the document is loaded from a storage 1405. The DOMService creates a DOMtree and a DocumentContainer 1401 that corresponds to theDocumentManager 1406. The DocumentContainer 1401 is attached to theDocumentManager 1406. The document includes an XHTML sub-tree and aMySampleXML sub-tree. With such a document, the ApexNode 1403 in theXHTML sub-tree is the top node of the XHTML sub-tree, to which the tag“xhtml:html” is assigned. On the other hand, the ApexNode 1404 in the“MySampleXML” sub-tree is the top node of the “MySampleXML” sub-tree, towhich the tag “sample:root” is assigned.

In Step S2 shown in FIG. 24( b), the RootPane creates an XHTMLZone,Facets, and a Canvas. Specifically, a Pane 1407, an XHTMLZone 1408, anXHTMLCanvas 1409, and a BoxTree 1410 are created corresponding to theApexNode 1403.

In Step S3 shown in FIG. 24( c), the tag “sample:root” that is notunderstood under the XHTMLZone sub-tree is detected, and a SubPane iscreated in the XHTMLCanvas region.

In Step 4 shown in FIG. 25, the SubPane can handle the “sample:root”,thereby providing a ZoneFactory having a function of creating anappropriate zone. The ZoneFactory is included in the vocabulary, and thevocabulary can execute the ZoneFactory. The vocabulary includes thecontent of the VocabularySection specified in “MySampleXML”.

In Step 5 shown in FIG. 26, the Vocabulary that corresponds to“MySampleXML” creates a DefaultZone 1601. In order to create acorresponding Editlet for creating a corresponding Canvas, a SubPane1501 is provided. The Editlet creates a VCCanvas. The VCCanvas calls theTemplateSection including a ConnectorFactoryTree. TheConnectorFactoryTree creates all the connectors that form theConnectorTree.

In Step S6 shown in FIG. 27, each Connector creates a correspondingdestination DOM object. Some of the connectors include XPathinformation. Here, the XPath information includes one or more XPathrepresentations used for determining a partial set of the source DOMtree which is to be monitored for changes and modifications.

In Step S7 shown in FIG. 28, the vocabulary creates a DestinationPanefor the destination DOM tree based upon the pane for the source DOM.Specifically, the DestinationPane is created based upon the SourcePane.The ApexNode of the destination tree is attached to the DestinationPaneand the corresponding Zone. The DestinationPane creates aDestinationCanvas. Furthermore, the DestinationPane is provided with adata structure for rendering the document in a destination format and anEditlet for the DestinationPane itself.

FIG. 29( a) shows a flow in a case in which an event has occurred at anode in the destination tree that has no corresponding source node. Inthis case, the event acquired by the Canvas is transmitted to anElementTemplateConnector via the destination tree. TheElementTemplateConnector has no corresponding source node, andaccordingly, the event thus transmitted does not involve an editoperation for the source node. In a case that the event thus transmittedmatches any of the commands described in the CommandTemplate, theElementTemplateConnector executes the Action that corresponds to thecommand. On the other hand, in a case that there is no correspondingcommand, the ElementTemplateConnector ignores the event thustransmitted.

FIG. 29( b) shows a flow in a case in which an event has occurred at anode in the destination tree that has been associated with a source nodevia a TextOfConnector. The TextOfConnector acquires the text node fromthe node in the source DOM tree specified by the XPath, and maps thetext node to the corresponding node in the destination DOM tree.

The event acquired by the Canvas, such as a mouse event, a keyboardevent, or the like, is transmitted to the TextOfConnector via thedestination tree. The TextOfConnector maps the event thus transmitted toa corresponding edit command for the corresponding source node, and theedit command thus mapped is loaded in the CommandQueue 1053. The editcommands are provided in the form of an API call set for the DOMexecuted via the Facet. When the command loaded in the queue isexecuted, the source node is edited. When the source node is edited, amutation event is issued, thereby notifying the TextOfConnector, whichhas been registered as a listener, of the modification of the sourcenode. Then, the TextOfConnector rebuilds the destination tree such thatthe destination node is modified according to the modification of thesource node. In this stage, in a case that the template including theTextOfConnector includes a control statement such as “for each”, “forloop”, or the like, the ConnectorFactory reanalyzes the controlstatement. Furthermore, the TextOfConnector is rebuilt, following whichthe destination tree is rebuilt.

EMBODIMENT

An embodiment proposes a technology for distributing XML documents anddefinition files for browsing/editing the XML documents to a portableterminal, thereby realizing various business models.

One widespread model for distributing documents written in a markuplanguage is the distribution of HTML documents using a web server.However, HTML is a markup language that is chiefly intended to definedisplay formats and the contents of the documents are therefore nottagged by meaning. This creates the problem of poor documentreusability.

Conversely, however, according to the model for distributing XMLdocuments and definition files, it is possible to mark up the documentswith arbitrary tag sets for meaning. Then, the XML document distributedcan be reused for various applications. Conventionally, there have beenfew processing systems available for XML documents, with the problembeing that XML documents, written in a non-major language, must behandled as text documents.

According to the technology described above as the preconditionaltechnology, however, documents written with an arbitrary tag set can bedisplayed and edited on a portable terminal if the VC unit 80 is mountedon the portable terminal and a definition file for processing the tagset, with which the XML documents are written, is prepared.Consequently, even for an apparatus with limited resources such as acellular phone terminal, it is possible to realize a general-purposeprocessing system capable of processing any XML documents.

Given an appropriate VCD, it is possible to display and edit an XMLdocument that is written with an arbitrary tag set. This eliminates theneed to include display information in the XML document to bedistributed. Consequently, the amount of data associated with an XMLdocument to be distributed can be reduced. Due to the small amount ofdata, it can be stored in a small-sized lightweight semiconductor chipor the like, and can even be attached to small products and the like. Itcan also be attached to products in the form of a bar code.

Among the various technologies used for displaying an XML document isone for defining display information on the XML document using XSLT,CSS, or the like. The technology is capable of displaying but notediting an XML document. According to the VC technology using VCD, XMLdocuments written with arbitrary tag sets can be edited. VCD can alsodescribe UIs, logic, and so on. This enables not only the simpledistribution of information but also interactive communications such astaking actions on a user and acquiring actions from the user.

While logic can also be described using JavaScript™, JavaScript™ isinferior to VCD in terms of the capability for creating a view. VCD hasthe view creating capability of XSLT, and can easily create views of XMLdocuments written with an arbitrary tag set. From a programmingviewpoint, VCD is based on Java™, is environment-independent, and isadvantageously easier to develop. Its smaller size is also advantageousto business models that utilize portable terminals.

FIG. 30 shows the configuration of an information distribution systemaccording to the embodiment. The information distribution system 100includes a portable terminal 70 and an information distributionapparatus 25 which distributes information to the portable terminal 70.The information distribution apparatus 25 includes a document holdingpart 26 which retains documents to be distributed to the portableterminal 70, and a transmission part 27 which reads documents from thedocument holding part 26 and transmits the same to the portable terminal70. The portable terminal 70 includes: a communication part 75 whichcontrols communication with the information distribution apparatus 25;the document processing apparatus 20 described in the preconditionaltechnology; a display device 21 which displays documents processed bythe document processing apparatus 20; an input device which has buttonsand the like for accepting inputs from a user; a personal informationholding part 71 which retains personal information on the user of theportable terminal 70; a definition file holding part 77 which retainsdefinition files; and a switch part 78 which switches definition filesto be applied to a document. The information distribution apparatus 25distributes documents to the portable terminal 70 through a network 29.The documents may be distributed using wireless communicationtechnologies such as Bluetooth, or may be distributed using a cellularphone network, the Internet, or the like. In this case, thecommunication part 75 has the function of a reception part whichreceives the documents transmitted from the information distributionapparatus 25. Moreover, the contents of a document may be expressed by abar code or the like so that the portable terminal 70 can acquire thedocument by reading the bar code. In this case, the informationdistribution apparatus 25 includes a bar code display part instead ofthe transmission part 27, and the portable terminal 70 includes a barcode reader.

Since the portable terminal 70 has fewer resources than typical personalcomputers do, it is desirable to omit any redundant configurations andprovide a minimum number of functions effectively. For this reason, thepresent embodiment provides the HTML unit 50 and the VC unit 80 alone asthe processing system for processing documents. For documents writtenwith tag sets (vocabularies) other than XHTML, definition filesdescribing conversion templates to XHTML are prepared so that thedocuments are converted into XHTML by the VC unit 80 and displayed bythe HTML unit 50. This makes it possible to realize a general-purposeprocessing system for arbitrary tag sets with a minimum configuration.It should be appreciated that while the embodiment deals with the casewhere the HTML unit 50 alone is provided as the processing system, theportable terminal 70 may also implement processing systems for other tagsets.

The information distribution apparatus 25 may distribute a definitionfile corresponding to a distributed document to the portable terminal70. The portable terminal 70 may acquire the definition file throughanother channel. The definition file acquired is stored in thedefinition file holding part 77. For example, a default definition filefor processing a common tag set may be preinstalled in the portableterminal 70 so that minimum information written with the common tag setin the document can be browsed by the application of the defaultdefinition file. A plurality of definition files for processing adocument may also be provided. For example, a plurality of definitionfiles used for displaying an identical document with different layoutsmay be prepared switchably so that the user can select a preferredscreen depending on the scene of use. In this case, the switch part 78accepts an instruction to switch definition files from the user, andswitches the definition file to be applied to an XML document. Aplurality of definition files may also be prepared including displaytemplates for different elements. For example, an element that cannot bedisplayed with an ordinary definition file may be included in a documentso that the element can be browsed only by users who have acquired aspecial definition file that describes the template for that element.This makes it possible to provide various modes of services, such asdistributing secret bargain information to members only, or providingservice tickets available to users who come to the store, both of whichcan be used for the purpose of sales promotion, for example.

Definition files can describe commands and logic, which may be used toprovide original user interfaces. Moreover, the VC functions can be usedto let the user edit a document and send the edited document back to theinformation distribution apparatus 25 through the communication part 75.In this case, the communication part 75 has the function of atransmission part which sends the edited document back to theinformation distribution apparatus 25. This makes it possible to providevarious types of services using bidirectional communications, such aspurchasing commodities and services, or answering questionnaires. Whenediting a document, the user's personal information stored in thepersonal information holding part 71 may be used. For example, thepersonal information holding part 71 may contain the name, address, andphone number of the user, an ID, a public key, certificates, andelectronic signatures of the portable terminal 70, and the like so thatthe definition file for editing the document can use them as necessary.This can reduce the user's trouble of making inputs, and allows highlyreliable communications using the certificate and the like.

As detailed above, the document processing apparatus 20 is used as aplatform for general-purpose processing on documents that are preparedfreely by providers and are written in original vocabularies. This makesit possible to realize various business models flexibly and effectively.Hereinafter, several examples of application will be described.

FIGS. 31( a) and 31(b) show a first example of application of theinformation distribution system 100. In FIG. 31( a), a commodity vendingapparatus 76 is provided with the information distribution apparatus 25,which distributes a document for providing information on commoditiespurchasable from the vending apparatus 76 or an UI for purchasingcommodities from the vending apparatus 76, to the portable terminal 70.FIG. 31( b) shows an example of the screen when a document distributedto the portable terminal 70 is displayed on the display device 21. Thedocument distributed from the information distribution apparatus 25arranged in the vending apparatus 76 describes, for example, a list ofcommodities purchasable from the vending apparatus 76, information onthose commodities, and so on. Moreover, a definition file associatedwith this document describes a template for displaying the commoditylist, related information, and the like described in the document, acommand for transmitting a commodity purchase request to the vendingapparatus 76, and the like. The definition file may be distributed fromthe vending apparatus 76 along with the document, or may be distributedto the portable terminal 70 through another channel. For example, whendistributing a document that describes commodity information or the likeof the vending apparatus 76 in an original vocabulary, a dedicateddefinition file that describes a template for the elements of thatvocabulary may be prepared and transmitted along with the document.Consider the instance where a plurality of vendors uses a commonvocabulary to write documents. In such cases, the definition file may bedistributed only when a document is distributed to the portable terminal70 for the first time, so that the definition file retained in theportable terminal 70 is subsequently applied.

When the portable terminal 70 transmits a purchase request to thevending apparatus 76 using the distributed document and a GUI presentedby the definition file, the vending apparatus 76 accepts the purchaserequest with its not-shown acceptance part and sells the commodity. Inthis instance, payment information stored in the personal informationholding part 71, such as information on a credit card, electronic money,and the like, may be transmitted to the vending apparatus 76.

The user can use the portable terminal 70 to browse detailed informationon the commodities for sale in the vending apparatus 76, and can alsomake a commodity purchase request from the portable terminal 70. Thismakes it possible to provide the user with information that cannot beconveyed by the vending apparatus 76 itself, and to provide the userwith an UI having more functionality than the UI of the vendingapparatus 76 itself does, thereby improving user conveniencedramatically. The connection with payment services and the like by useof the portable terminal 70 makes it possible to process the payment ofcommodity purchases automatically, providing a further improvement inuser convenience.

FIGS. 32( a) and 32(b) show a second example of application of theinformation distribution system 100. In FIG. 32( a), a wireless IC tag89 attached to a commodity 79 is operated as the informationdistribution apparatus 25. The wireless IC tag 89 includes a storagedevice which retains a document that describes information on thedistribution channel and the like of the commodity, and a transmissiondevice which transmits the document to the portable terminal 70 bywireless communication. FIG. 32( b) shows an example of the screen whenthe document transmitted to the portable terminal 70 is displayed on thedisplay device 21. The document distributed from the wireless IC tag 89describes information including the producer, the production place, theproduced date, and the distribution channel of the commodity. Adefinition file associated with this document describes a template fordisplaying the information on the distribution channel and the likewritten in the document, a command for editing those pieces ofinformation, and so on.

Consumers can use the portable terminal 70 to browse information such asthe distribution channel of the commodity. This can provide theconsumers with a sense of safety, which may lead to sales promotion ofthe commodity. For example, in the process of distribution, intermediatedistributors may acquire the document from the wireless IC tag 89 usingthe portable terminal 70, add information such as an arrival date and ashipping date, and store the same in the wireless IC tag 89. This makesit possible to manage the distribution channel easily and appropriately.When dealers inspect the commodity, a portable terminal 70 having adefinition file for putting a stamp of approval may be used to put astamp of approval on the document that is acquired from wireless IC tag89. The stamped document is sent back to the wireless IC tag 89 throughthe communication part 75, and stored in the document holding part 26. Acertificate of the stamper may be stored in the personal informationholding part 71 and attached to the stamped document as an electronicsignature. This allows prompt inspections and can improve the inspectionreliability.

FIGS. 33( a) and 33(b) show a third example of application of theinformation distribution system 100. In FIG. 33( a), the informationdistribution apparatus 25 is installed as an information distributionspot in various places. When the user is moving and the portableterminal 70 enters the coverage area of a wireless communication of aninformation distribution apparatus 25, a document for providinginformation on nearby shops, tourist sights, and the like is distributedfrom the information distribution apparatus 25 to the portable terminal70. FIG. 33( b) shows an example of the screen when the documenttransmitted to the portable terminal 70 is displayed on the displaydevice 21. The document distributed from the information distributionapparatus 25 describes information around the information distributionspot, i.e., around the current position of the user, and the like. Theinformation on shops and the like around the current position of theuser can be distributed for more effective advertising. Moreover, astandard definition file to be distributed with the document may omit atemplate for secret information while a definition file only availableat stores describes the template for secret information. This makes itpossible to display secret bargain information, coupon tickets, and thelike only through the application of that definition file.

FIG. 34 shows another example of the configuration of the informationdistribution system. In the information distribution system 100 shown inFIG. 34, the portable terminal 70 further includes a filtering part 72and a document holding part 73. The information distribution apparatus25 sends e-mail to distribute an XML document to the portable terminal70 in the form of an e-mail newsletter. The filtering part 72 extractsinformation the user wishes to accumulate, and stores it in the documentholding part 73. The filtering part 72 may extract portions that arewritten with a certain tag set in the XML document, and accumulate theminto the document holing part 73. Alternatively, certain elements alonemay be extracted and accumulated into the document holding part 73. Theuser can read the document stored in the document holding part 73,display it on the document processing apparatus 20, and edit it at anytime.

FIG. 35 shows yet another example of the configuration of theinformation distribution system. In the information distribution system100 shown in FIG. 35, the portable terminal 70 further includes a searchpart 74. The search part 74 searches for information distributionapparatuses 25 that are present around the portable terminal 70 and arecapable of communication with the portable terminal 70. For example, insuch situations as shown in FIG. 33( a), the search part 74 searches forinformation distribution apparatuses 25 that are present in the coveragearea of the wireless communication, and requests the found informationdistribution apparatuses 25 to transmit an XML document. That is, in thecase of FIG. 33( a), the information distribution apparatuses 25 searchfor portable terminals 70 that are present within the coverage area oftheir wireless communication, and distribute the XML document. In theconfiguration example of this diagram, on the contrary, the portableterminal 70 searches for information distribution apparatuses 25 thatare present in the coverage area of its wireless communication, andrequests to distribute the XML document. The search part 74 may searchXML documents distributed from the information distribution apparatuses25 for a document that is written with a tag set processable by adefinition file the portable terminal 70 has.

The search part 74 may be realized by a definition file and the VC unit80. For example, when the user activates a definition file thatprocesses a tag set for describing bargain information, the search part74 may search XML documents distributed from accessible informationdistribution apparatuses 25 for a document that is written with the tagset intended for bargain information, and acquire the found document.

Up to this point, the present invention has been described inconjunction with the embodiment thereof. This embodiment has been givensolely by way of illustration. It will be understood by those skilled inthe art that various modifications may be made to combinations of theforegoing components and processes, and all such modifications are alsointended to fall within the scope of the present invention.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The present invention may be applied to an information distributionsystem which distributes documents written in XML.

1. An information distribution system, comprising: a portable terminal;and an information distribution apparatus which distributes informationto the portable terminal, wherein the information distribution apparatusincludes a holding part which retains a document written in a markuplanguage, and the portable terminal includes: an acquisition part whichacquires the document from the information distribution apparatus; aprocessing system which processes a document written with apredetermined tag set; a conversion part which converts an elementincluded in the document into an element processible by the processingsystem, and manages correspondence between the elements before and afterconversion; and a display device which displays a document that isconverted by the conversion part and processed by the processing system.2. An information distribution system according to claim 1, wherein theinformation distribution apparatus further includes a transmission partwhich transmits the document to the portable terminal, and the portableterminal further includes a reception part which receives the documenttransmitted from the information distribution apparatus.
 3. Aninformation distribution system according to claim 1, wherein theportable terminal further includes a definition file which describes arule for converting a document included in the document into an elementprocessible by the processing system, and the conversion part consultsthe definition file and converts an element included in the documentinto an element processible by the processing system.
 4. An informationdistribution system according to claim 3, wherein the holding partfurther retains the definition file, and the transmission part transmitsthe definition file to the portable terminal.
 5. An informationdistribution system according to claim 3, wherein the portable terminalincludes a switch part which switches between a plurality of thedefinition files corresponding to the document, if acquired, and appliesthem.
 6. An information distribution system according to claim 3,wherein the definition file further describes a user interface forprocessing the document, and the portable terminal displays the userinterface described in the definition file on the display device, andaccepts an instruction from a user.
 7. An information distributionsystem according to claim 1, wherein the portable terminal furtherincludes a transmission part which sends the document edited by theprocessing system back to the information distribution apparatus.
 8. Aninformation distribution system according to claim 1, wherein theportable terminal further includes a search part which searches for aninformation distribution apparatus capable of communication with theterminal itself, and the acquisition part acquires a document from theinformation distribution apparatus searched by the search part.
 9. Aninformation distribution system according to claim 8, wherein the searchpart searches for a document written with a tag set processible by thedefinition file that the portable terminal has, and the acquisition partacquires the document searched by the search part.